


The World Beyond the Veil

by MiniMe1776



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Dimension Travel, Eventual Crossover, F/M, No Horcruxes, Not particularly slow-burn, Time Travel
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-21
Updated: 2021-01-13
Packaged: 2021-03-05 01:54:21
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 7
Words: 31,731
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25426480
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MiniMe1776/pseuds/MiniMe1776
Summary: Different worlds and different friends make for different ends. But these fickle ends, new and old, aren't always written in stone, and nothing is ever as it seems. HHr, no Horcrux AU.(Also on fanfiction.net)
Relationships: Charlus Potter/Dorea Black Potter, Hermione Granger/Harry Potter, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Remus Lupin/Nymphadora Tonks, Sirius Black/Jessica Cambridge
Comments: 4
Kudos: 33





	1. Prologue: Into the Veil

"WE'VE GOT HIM!" yelled the Death Eater, "IN AN OFFICE OFF-"

" _Silencio!_ " Hermione cried. The Death Eater was cut off mid-sentence. " _Stupefy!_ " The Death Eater, who had recently been silenced, crumpled to the ground, unconscious.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ " Harry shouted, the other Death Eater falling to the ground, completely immobilized. Neville crawled towards Harry, who was helping Hermione off the ground.

"Neville," Harry whispered, "We're not far from the exit. We're… uh… Oh. Right. We're right next to that circular room, and I think that if we can just get you across it and find the right door before any other Death Eaters find us. Uh… then, um… It would probably be a good idea for you to find an alarm or something…"

"Whad are you doo going do do?" Neville asked, wiping some blood away from his bleeding nose, looking miffed that they were leaving him behind.

"We've got to find the others!" Hermione whispered furiously. Harry nodded in agreement with her.

"Well, I'b going do find dem wid you," Neville stated.

"But maybe the Aurors could help if you rang the…" Harry trailed off as Neville glared at him.

Hermione's resolve crumbled. Seeing this, Harry gave her a look and then acquiesced. "Oh, fine," Harry grumbled, "Let's go. No time to lose, we need to get out of here."

Neville looked down forlornly at his wand. "Alrighd. Yeah, we'd bedder ged going, bud my gran's going do kill me. Id was my dad's old wand, Id reminded her of him a bid, I dink."

Harry walked to the door and looked out, noticing the Death Eater with the baby head screaming and clumsily bumping into a variety of objects, such as grandfather clocks, desks, and even the Time-Turner cabinet. His amusement must have shown on his face, as Hermione startled him out of his watching by slapping his arm, with considerable force, signifying her irritation.

"Harry!" she hissed, "Now is not the time! We need to go!" Harry nodded, albeit reluctantly, still wanting to see more of the Death Eater's antics.

They snuck out of the office and crept through the time room, out of the door into the black hallway, which promptly swung shut after them. Harry's eyes widened as he realized the fiery crosses Hermione had marked the doors that they had already gone through with had disappeared. Before they could decide which door to try, another door opened and three people tumbled out of it.

"Ron!" Harry exclaimed, walking quickly towards them.

"Ginny? Are you all right?" Hermione asked concernedly.

Ron giggled weakly. "Ha-Harry… Ha… Ha ha. Funny… You look real funny… Ha ha ha…" Ron collapsed and fell to the ground, a dull thud echoing through the hallway.

Hermione stared at him in shock, and then regarded Ginny carefully, who appeared to be in pain. But when Ginny noticed her gaze, she just shook her head and slid down to the ground.

Luna looked at Hermione's confused visage. "I think she broke something… Maybe her ankle?" Luna remarked, noticing that Ginny was clutching her ankle awkwardly, "I know that I heard something crack in there."

Ron rolled over on his back and began giggling again. "Harry! We saw Uranus! Up close in there!" Harry shook his head and turned towards the more lucid members of their group.

"We need to go. Luna, Hermione, can you help Ginny? Me and Neville can get Ron." They both nodded.

As they moved to help Ginny up, she looked at them angrily. "I can get up myself, thanks." But when she tried to stand, she stumbled forward and clutched Hermione's shoulder for support, standing on her good leg.

Neville and Harry supported Ron with their shoulders, and they all started moving towards a door, Harry and Neville leading them. They almost got to it when another door swung open and Bellatrix Lestrange followed by three other Death Eaters ran into the hall.

" _There they are!_ " she yelled. Red beams of light flew through the air as everyone in the room lucid enough to do so opened fire.

Harry took the brunt of Ron's weight and slammed through the door, and unceremoniously dropped Ron to the ground, more concerned with saving their lives than considering his friend's comfort. The rest of their party managed to get through before Harry locked it with a quick _Colloportus_. The Death Eaters slammed into the other side of the door.

They heard a man on the other side of the door. "It doesn't matter, there are other ways in." Then, he raised his voice as if alerting his fellow Death Eaters, "WE'VE GOT THEM TRAPPED HERE!"

Harry spun around and took in his surroundings, noticing that they ended up back in the brain room again. Heeding their associate's call, more Death Eaters ran to the four outside of the door.

Luna, Neville, Harry, and Hermione ran around the room, sealing doors as they went. Every now and then, a thud could be heard as a Death Eater would slam against a recently locked door.

Unfortunately, Luna wasn't quick enough to one of the doors, so when Harry looked over, he noticed her screaming as she flew through the air, hit by a spell from one of the Death Eaters pouring through the door. Luna hit the ground, landing on her right leg which gave a sickening crunch as she fell to the ground, unconscious, and with her leg bent at an odd angle.

Ron, it seemed, had just regained consciousness, as he began giggling again, and looked at one of the tanks containing the brains. "Ha ha…" he giggled, "Look! They're _brains!_ Ha ha… _Accio brain!_ "

Suddenly, the room was deathly silent, apart from Ron, who was giggling like a maniac. The brain Ron had summoned broke out of the tank and flew towards Ron quite quickly, and everyone, in spite of themselves, turned to watch the spectacle.

As the brain's tentacles made contact with Ron's now outstretched hands, they began coiling around his arms. The effect was instantaneous. Ron recoiled and tried, in his semi-conscious state, to get the tentacles off of his arms, failing pathetically.

Ginny tried to sever the tentacles with a _Diffindo_ , but there was no effect. Instead, Ginny was hit straight in the face with a stunner and slumped to the ground. This seemed to bring everyone back to their senses.

Bellatrix Lestrange charged at Harry, intent on getting the prophecy still clutched in his hand, and Harry ran, Hermione close behind. As Harry ran into the next room through the only door open, he looked over his shoulder and saw the red light of a stunner impact Neville in the chest. Unfortunately, because Harry was looking back, he didn't see the approaching stairs and fell. Keeping the fragile orb close to his chest, he tumbled down the stairs, and Hermione followed quickly, luckily not falling as well. He hit the bottom with a crash, landing on his back. Hermione helped him up and gripped his arm painfully.

Wincing, he looked towards the door that he had recently entered through, and saw the five Death Eaters from the brain room dash through.

As the Death Eaters approached Harry and Hermione, they backed up, until Harry felt the back of his legs come into contact with something solid. He glanced back quickly and noticed that he was at the dais, where the archway stood. Harry scrambled to get up on it and pulled Hermione with him. They clutched each other, as if afraid that if they let go, they would be taken from each other.

Unfortunately, that is exactly what happened.

" _Accio Granger!_ " Bellatrix snarled. With a cry, Hermione was yanked from Harry's grasp. Harry reached out desperately for her hand, which was also outstretched, reaching for his, but she was too far away for him to reach.

As Hermione landed at their feet, Lucius Malfoy stepped forward. "Potter, give us the prophecy and your friend lives. _Now_."

Hermione wrenched her head up and yelled to Harry, "Don't do it, Harry! I'll be fine. The prophecy is more important! Go!"

Harry swallowed nervously, his hands shaking. "If - if you let her go, I'll give it to you," Harry asserted with confidence he didn't really feel. Malfoy must have noticed this because he smirked.

"You aren't really in any position to make demands, Potter, but you sure have loyalty. It _sickens_ me. _Crucio!_ " Malfoy yelled the torture curse and all Harry could do was watch Hermione writhe and scream under its effects. By the time Malfoy lifted it, tears were streaming down Harry's cheeks and Hermione was whimpering, curled up into a ball at Malfoy's feet.

Bellatrix laughed. "Potter! Now you've seen what we can do to your little _friend..._ " The word friend was uttered with such malevolence that Harry flinched "...so hand over the prophecy, or that will seem like a cute little warm-up!" Bellatrix cackled maniacally, and Harry's face took on a horrified expression.

There was no choice. Harry made the decision instantly. There was _nothing_ more important to him right now than Hermione surviving.

 _No stupid prophecy is more important than Hermione,_ Harry thought. He didn't get to articulate his decision, though, because from the door that the Death Eaters came through, came several stunning spells. Two Death Eaters that Harry didn't recognize fell to the ground as they were hit with stunners.

Harry looked sharply towards the door and his face broke into a wide grin as he saw Lupin, Sirius, Tonks, Moody, and Kingsley fiercely engage the remaining Death Eaters.

Tonks, however, separated from the group and rushed towards the whimpering Hermione and handed her a potion, which was weakly accepted.

"Drink this," she advised, "this will help with the pain."

Hermione swallowed the solution with the assistance of Tonks, and the change was visible. She stopped whimpering and her shoulders straightened as she collected herself. Tonks held out her hand and Hermione took it, and stood.

Harry was shocked, and it must have shown on his face because Tonks chuckled. "Harry, chuck the prophecy. All that matters now is keeping it out of their hands. I reckon Dumbledore knows what it says already anyway." Harry looked surprised, and Hermione looked angry.

"Dumbledore _knew_ that there was a prophecy about Harry down here?" Hermione whispered angrily.

Harry's eyes snapped to hers. "Hermione, I know you're concerned, and I appreciate it, but there's a fight going on right now," Harry stated firmly. Hermione looked like she wanted to protest but managed to keep her mouth shut. Tonks looked very surprised at Hermione's outburst, but schooled her features into a neutral expression and dashed away to rejoin the fight.

"Right," Harry said, "Time to get rid of this blasted thing." He pitched the prophecy at the ground in front of his feet, and the orb smashed rather loudly at his feet. From the shards, a figure rose. Its mouth opened, and the duo stood transfixed as they heard the prophecy in full:

" _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord approaches... Born to those who have thrice defied him, born as the seventh month dies... And the Dark Lord will mark him as his equal, but he will have power the Dark Lord knows not... And either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives…"_

The figure faded, and with it, the message. Harry reached out for Hermione's hand and she gripped his tightly. Suddenly, they remembered that a fight was occurring around them as a sickly yellow light soared over their heads. They ducked in unison and turned to face their attacker, Dolohov.

" _Tarantallegra!_ " Harry shouted, to which Dolohov smirked and shielded. Dolohov was about to throw a curse but was stopped when Sirius appeared out of nowhere and slammed into him with his shoulder, sending him flying. There was a _crack_ as he hit the ground.

" _Petrificus Totalus!_ " Harry intoned, and Dolohov's arms snapped to his side while his legs locked together.

Sirius looked at Harry approvingly and yelled, "Nice one!" The three of them ducked as a jet of green light barely missed Sirius. Cackling could be heard as Tonks fell down the steps in the same matter as Harry, Bellatrix looking triumphant.

Sirius looked grave. The two Death Eaters who were stunned early on were back into the fight. He turned to Harry with a fierce look. "Get yourself and your lady out of here!" Harry nodded and started pulling Hermione away from the fighting. A spell impacted the floor in front of them, leaving a small crater, and creating a small cloud of dust. Harry and Hermione coughed and continued around the new hole.

From behind him, Harry heard Hermione gasp and stop running. " _Dumbledore_ ," she whispered. " _He's here!_ " Harry turned and saw the truth to her words.

Dumbledore rushed past the couple and entered the fight. Harry and Hermione glanced at each other, both no longer possessing any intention of leaving. Once the Death Eaters realized he was there, there was a mad scramble to escape.

In fact, only one couple was still fighting. Sirius and Bellatrix were multitasking, exchanging spells and verbally jousting at the same time.

"Come on! You can do better than that!" Sirius taunted, dodging a stunner. Harry and Hermione ran forward with the intent of help. However, it was useless, as Bellatrix's second jet of red light impacted him in the chest.

_The laughter had not quite died from his face, but his eyes widened in shock._

_It seemed to take Sirius an age to fall. His body curved in a graceful arc as he sank backward through the ragged veil hanging from the arc…_

_And Harry saw the look of mingled fear and surprise on his godfather's wasted, once-handsome face as he fell through the ancient doorway and disappeared behind the veil, which fluttered for a moment as though in a high wind and then fell back into place._

_\- Page 805-806, Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J. K. Rowling_

Bellatrix yelled out triumphantly, announcing to the heavens her great victory, while Harry could only stare in shock, staring at the last place his godfather had stood. Hermione wasn't faring much better.

Harry yelled, "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"

But there was no answer. Harry ran forward, dodging Lupin, and pulled back the curtain.

"HARRY, NO!" He heard Hermione shout, but he didn't care. He would find his godfather. He jumped through.

As his senses faded, he heard Bellatrix yelling about how her master would reward her for killing not only Black " _but_ _Potter too!"_ The last thing he saw was Hermione jumping through after him. She grabbed his hand as his vision faded to black.


	2. Chapter 1: A Whole New World

**Previously:**

_Harry yelled, "SIRIUS! SIRIUS!"_

_But there was no answer. Harry ran forward, dodging Lupin, and pulled back the curtain._

_"HARRY, NO!" He heard Hermione shout, but he didn't care. He would find his godfather. He jumped through._

_As his senses faded, he heard Bellatrix yelling about how her master would reward her for killing not only Black "_ but Potter too! _" The last thing he saw was Hermione jumping through after him. She grabbed his hand as his vision faded to black._

* * *

 **Chapter 1:** A Whole New World

Harry groaned as he returned to consciousness. As his senses came into focus, he discovered he was on the hard ground.

 _Shite,_ Harry thought, _Why was I sleeping on the ground? I'm going to be sore for days…_

Then, the events of the previous hour or so flooded back to him.

 _SIRIUS!_ He thought fiercely. With that, he wrenched his eyes open and sat up with a sharp intake of breath.

When he looked around, he was surprised. He was still on the dais which housed the veil, the only thing was that the room was quite empty except for Hermione and Sirius. _Sirius!_

Harry rushed over to the limp form of Sirius Black and checked for a pulse. He sighed in relief. What he found wasn't a dead Sirius Black, it was just a thoroughly unconscious Sirius Black. He decided to leave him there for the moment and look around.

As Harry walked around the room, he noticed that there were no signs of the battle that had recently occurred.

 _Maybe we time traveled,_ Harry mused, but almost instantly dismissed the notion, it seeming almost too good to be true. He concluded that he probably wouldn't be able to come up with the answer himself, so he'd probably have to wake Hermione or Sirius to hear some good theories.

 _Hermione_. Harry thought crossly. _I can't believe she jumped in after me_. He couldn't help but notice the fluttering sensation in his stomach when he thought about her loyalty recently.

 _Hmm… that's new…_ Harry mused, considering the new feeling. He decided that he would contemplate it later and contented himself with pondering their interactions over the past years.

The first pleasant memory he had of her was after Halloween in first year, the day after he and Ron had saved her from the troll. They had become fast friends after that, and by the end of the year, he had gotten to know her somewhat well, but sitting on the dais, he came to a startling realization. He had always put Ron first.

 _What the hell is wrong with me?_ He mentally screamed. It seemed so much clearer now. After the troll incident, Ron had continued his mocking, albeit at a milder level, but had not stopped, and he, Harry, had never once stepped in to defend her. In fact, he had often nodded in agreement, not really paying attention to Ron's words.

That must have _hurt_ , Harry realized, for even the people who saved your life and rescued you from a troll to mock you.

Then, in third year, there was that whole blowup over Sirius' _Firebolt_ gift. He had just agreed with Ron, and left Hermione all alone, and avoided her, even though what she did made complete sense, and he now realized that he would've done the same thing in her position, though she should have probably asked him first - no, scratch that. Considering his reaction, he thought it made sense that she didn't ask him. He would've overreacted and denied the possibility that the ex-con was sending him a gift.

The saddest thing was that he completely ignored her for an extended period of time, and she was _right the whole time_. Despite the fact that Sirius hadn't cursed it, he _had_ sent it, the Azkaban escapee had sent him the broom. And had Harry even apologized afterward? No.

He decided that he would rectify that as soon as Hermione woke up.

And then, just today, ( _Or was it yesterday_ , Harry mused) he had dismissed her concerns about the vision of Sirius being a trap. Then, he had led them all on a half-cocked mission to "rescue" Sirius, who wasn't even being held hostage. Then, after Sirius had fallen through the veil, Harry had followed, like an idiot. And for some reason, Hermione was still loyal enough to him to _jump through after him_. How? After everything he did, how was she still loyal to him? It made no sense. He pinched the bridge of his nose, considering the question.

There was no answer he could think of.

A groan from behind him startled him from his deep ponderings.

As he turned around, he saw Hermione rubbing her eyes sleepily with her fists. He walked to her side and knelt next to her.

He cautiously put a hand on her shoulder and her eyes shot open and she gasped, obviously remembering falling through the veil.

" _How are we alive?_ " she whispered. "That was the Veil of Death. I've read about it. It's been used for criminal executions. If we're alive, are all of those criminals alive too?"

"Hermione… Breathe," Harry whispered back comfortingly, squeezing her shoulder. That was when she noticed that he was there.

"You great, big, utter, _PRAT!_ " she exclaimed loudly, "You just _had_ to jump into the veil of bloody _death!_ Just what is your problem? Did you want to die?" At the end, she broke down into sobs and her body shook, tears leaking out of her eyes and running down her cheeks in rivers.

At that moment, Harry realized what it must have done to her, seeing him voluntarily run to what she thought he considered was his death.

"Why are you so loyal, Hermione Granger? Why are you so bloody amazing?" At this, Harry heard a clear hitch in her breath and noticed a blush blossom across her cheeks. He regarded her carefully. "I didn't know that supposedly led to death, Hermione, I just saw my godfather fall through a creepy veil that was whispering to me earlier. I thought that there was something behind it like maybe it was a gateway of sorts, and all I could think was that I wanted my godfather back here. But my point is, you did know that it was apparently a death sentence, and _you_ voluntarily jumped through it. How, after how bad of a friend I've been, how could you possibly still be loyal enough to me to jump to your death just to follow me? You are just so bloody _amazing_ , Hermione Granger, and I can't believe I've never appreciated that before." He glanced over at her and saw that her tears had stopped, but her eyes were still red and puffy. Her cheeks had a decidedly pink tint to them and she was holding her bottom lip with her teeth. A few strands of frizzy brown hair framed her face.

He noticed right then and there, that she was startlingly beautiful. For the second time in as long as he'd known her, he realized that she was a girl. _Shite_ , Harry thought. _I'm an idiot. I've known her for years and only noticed how good she looked once before_.

Suddenly, she rolled over onto her stomach and pushed herself up so that she was kneeling, and then glomped Harry.

She sniffled into his neck. "I've never heard someone say something so nice to me before." She was confused when she felt him stiffen.

"I'm sorry, Hermione. I'm going to remedy that from now on. I'm going to shower you with compliments for as long as I live. I've been a bad friend, and I want to make up for that. I'm sorry. I should have corrected Ron's behavior when he was insulting and mocking you. I mean, Ron's a great friend most of the time, but sometimes, he just doesn't really get it."

Hermione leaned back and gave him a radiant smile, and then hugged him again. They lapsed into a comfortable silence, just enjoying the feel of being in each others' arms.

Suddenly, a deliberate cough from behind them had them separating quickly and blushing furiously. Sirius was looking at them confusedly.

"As much fun as it is seeing you two lovebirds hug it out, I really must inquire, _where the sodding hell are we?_ I mean, the last thing I remember is getting stunned by dear old Bella, and now I feel like I've been trampled by a horde of hippogriffs," Sirius said.

Harry and Hermione, having recovered from their embarrassment, glanced at each other, having a brief wordless conversation. "No idea," they said in unison. Sirius blinked.

"Hell, you guys are just like the Weasley twins sometimes, and you aren't even twins!" Sirius shook his head and cast a quick _Tempus_ with his wand that was lying next to him.

In the air, a few figures appeared:

4:27 A.M.

Sirius nodded. "Cool. Seems like we've been asleep for a few hours." He looked around and took in their location. "Why does it look like there _wasn't_ a major battle here? _And,_ why would the Order-" _or Voldemort_ , he added mentally, "-leave us here?" Then, he gestured to the veil. "Also, why am I not dead? Isn't that thing supposed to kill people?" He turned and saw the gears turning in Hermione's head as she soaked up the questions.

"Hmm… I'm not sure, Sirius, but maybe the veil _doesn't_ actually kill people, seeing as we went through it as well-" Hermione was cut off by Sirius.

"You did _WHAT?_ "

They shifted nervously.

Hermione spoke up again, defending herself and Harry. "Well, Harry probably jumped through after you in his grief and I followed him because I'll always follow Harry."

Harry looked at Hermione sharply, confused because he had said that he hadn't known what the veil was previously.

Sirius nodded reluctantly, apparently accepting of their explanation, but clearly not happy about it.

An uncomfortable silence descended on the trio as Hermione looked down at her hands and Harry looked back to the veil, while Sirius stared blankly at the ground in front of him.

After a time, Harry spoke up, breaking the tension. "The whispers, they're louder. In fact, much of it sounds distinctly of Bellatrix's laughter." At this, Sirius frowned, Hermione creased her brow in thought, and Harry stood and stretched. A few moments later, he offered his hand to Hermione, who took it and used it to stand as well. Hermione groaned as she stood and stretched in various ways, causing many of her joints to make cracking noises as they adjusted from resting in an awkward position. Harry gave her a look.

"That's disgusting," he complained. Hermione smirked, and Sirius laughed before replying.

"It feels good, Harry. Don't deny a girl her pleasures," Sirius teased. Harry blushed and looked away. "Alright, alright. But guys, we need to start thinking about getting out of here. God knows what would happen if someone found us down here."

Harry laughed. "I can picture it now, knowing the press, someone would write something like _Mass Murderer Sirius Black Kidnaps Harry Potter and his Muggleborn Girlfriend and Holds Them Hostage_." Sirius chortled at Harry's words, while Hermione blushed, though that was more due to the "girlfriend" part, but laughed too, knowing that the press certainly would've published something like that.

Sirius sobered quickly. "Alright, guys, I know you're hurt, so we'll get out of here and head back to Grimmauld and ask what the hell's going on. Maybe we can get Poppy to fix you guys up. Merlin knows I'm on track for a tongue-lashing from Molly for "dragging the innocent little babies out into the war." Let's go." Harry smirked at the thought of Mrs. Weasley giving Sirius a severe talking to.

The trio carefully made their way out of the Ministry, having a much easier time getting out with Sirius's help then they had getting in. As they entered the muggle part of town, Sirius clapped both of them on the shoulder and said, "Please don't spill your dinners on me." and promptly disapparated with the two kids coming along for the ride.

As they twisted into existence in the middle of the street of Grimmauld Place, Sirius looked confused at the absence of a _Number Twelve_ while Harry and Hermione struggled not to lose their dinners on the sidewalk. Sirius decided that they would go to Hogwarts and see if they could find Albus.

He turned back to the teens with a glint in his eyes that made them gulp and said: "Hold on to your lunches, kiddos." Then, he grabbed them by the shoulders and apparated to Hogsmeade.

This time, they did lose their meals. Sirius grimaced and vanished the mess. "Sorry, guys. Let's go!" He said lightly. The couple glared at him and started to follow him.

Behind Sirius, Harry had taken Hermione's hand and was looking around. "You know," Harry whispered, "I don't think that I remember tonight being anywhere close to a full moon." Hermione looked at him oddly, but then looked baffled when he pointed out that it _was_ a full moon.

"Sirius," Hermione called, "Was it supposed to be a full moon tonight?" Sirius looked up at the sky and saw the full moon.

"No, most certainly not, at least I don't think so," Sirius said over his shoulder. "Remus is always very tired and achy when the full moon comes around, and he wasn't yesterday, so I'm not sure what to say." As he finished speaking, they neared the Shrieking Shack. Sirius eyed it critically. "That looks a little less worn than it usually is," he mused.

As they stepped inside, Sirius frowned. "That couch," he gestured at a couch that was in relatively good condition compared to the rest of the furniture, "was torn up by Remus during our seventh year. I remember this because of how disappointed I was - That was my favorite couch in this place."

Hermione looked pensive. "Couldn't someone have used a _Reparo?_ " She asked.

Sirius shrugged. "I don't think so. It would look a lot less worn than it does now."

Harry frowned. "Could we have time traveled?" he asked.

Sirius looked overwhelmed. "I don't know. Nobody really knows what the veil does, but it was always assumed that it could be used for executions. Since we're not dead, we're well and truly in the dark."

They made their way through the passage that led to the base of the Whomping Willow. On the way out, Sirius transformed into Padfoot and pressed the knot, rendering the violent tree temporarily harmless. Once a safe distance from the tree, Padfoot shifted back to Sirius and he turned to them.

"Alright. I'm going to disillusion us so that we can make our way up to the school unnoticed. If Harry's theory is right, and we have no reason to assume it isn't, then it would be a good idea to stay concealed until we get to the headmaster's office. Anyway, remember that just because they can't see you, doesn't mean they can't hear you." The kids nodded, and Sirius tapped them on the top of the head with his wand, and they disappeared from sight.

Just as Sirius was raising his wand to his own head, a howl came from the direction of the forbidden forest.

When Sirius snapped his head in that direction, his jaw slackened and his eyes bulged. Harry snorted at his expression, but when he turned, he adopted the same expression.

Rushing towards the Whomping Willow passage that they had exited minutes before, was a stag, grim, rat, and werewolf. Harry felt an invisible hand grab his in a death grip.

Suddenly, the werewolf stopped abruptly and turned his head towards Sirius, who was still slack-jawed, the rest of the animals following his example.

Harry punched Sirius on the arm. " _Dispel our charms_ ," he hissed, "the werewolf at least can smell us. It wouldn't be good to appear to be deceiving them." Sirius gulped, and then complied.

The stag stumbled backward and fell, landing with a thump on the ground. The grim seemed to realize that something important was happening and directed the werewolf into the passage, though it looked reluctant to do so.

As the werewolf and grim vanished from sight, the stag and the rat shifted into two teenage boys. One looking decidedly rat-like, and the other had unkempt black hair, glasses, and hazel eyes.

The bespectacled boy hesitantly stepped forward towards Harry, noting that his appearance looked almost identical to his own, aside from a strange scar and his startling green eyes.

Hermione and Harry exchanged a glance, the latter giving the former a slight nod. Hermione stepped forward and stuck out her hand. "I'm Hermione Granger," she gestured to Harry, "and this is Harry Potter. We're transfer students from America. If you don't mind, we're a little lost, could you help us get to the headmaster's office?" At this, Sirius looked startled and then schooled his features into a vague expression of approval.

The other bespectacled boy carefully took Hermione's hand and shook it. "Umm… My name's James Potter. I'm a fifth-year here, and my friend behind me is Peter Pettigrew. Um… Alright… I guess I can take you to the headmaster's office if you don't know the way. Is he expecting you?"

Hermione managed to force herself to look passably sheepish, "We might be a bit early, I think he was expecting us tomorrow…" she trailed off.

James looked uncertain. "Well…" he turned to face Peter, "Uh… you should probably go and help Moony," he said cryptically. Peter nodded frantically and hurriedly shifted to Wormtail and went to the shack. James turned back to the trio, who were looking incredibly awkward. He glanced at Hermione, and then Sirius.

"Who's the other guy?" he asked.

Sirius looked like a deer caught in the headlights. He looked to Hermione, who looked resigned, and Harry, who looked a mix of worried and ecstatic at seeing his father. "Uh… My name is Sirius Black… You might have heard of me?" he finished lamely.

At this, James whipped out his wand and pointed it at Sirius. "You can't be serious, Sirius just left!" he exclaimed.

Sirius looked affronted. "I can't be Sirius? How can't I be myself? Just saying, I might not be serious all that often, but I'm 100% Sirius Black." He poked himself in the chest. "Yep! All there."

James pinched the bridge of his nose. "Damn. That's _exactly_ what Sirius would've said," he muttered. " _Fine._ I'll take you to the headmaster, but I want an explanation." James walked past them, keeping his eyes fixed firmly on the ground.

As he passed by Harry he heard him mutter, " _Merlin_ , I hope we didn't time travel, and this is some alternative dimension, otherwise, the timeline is _royally fucked_."

James sighed, gestured for them to follow, and led them to the castle, the air between James and Sirius thick with tension. Harry and Hermione, however, seemed not to notice as they whispered furiously to each other, debating their situation while holding hands.

* * *

Dumbledore's office was just like Harry remembered. Trinkets abound, portraits glaring, and a modest bowl of lemon drops on his desk.

Silence had the office in a death grip while Dumbledore looked at Harry, Hermione, and Sirius over his half-moon glasses, while James stood off to the side.

Sirius shifted uneasily in his seat, feeling like a first-year caught copying somebody else's homework, while Hermione was seemingly cutting off the circulation in Harry's hand by squeezing too hard.

Suddenly, the silence was broken as Dumbledore opened his mouth. "Sirius Black, you say? How can you prove it?"

Sirius stood abruptly, startling everyone present, and walked away from his chair.

"Watch."

He shifted into Padfoot and James gasped. Dumbledore "hmmed" appreciatively and cast a quick dispelling spell to check for illusions. Dumbledore nodded, and Padfoot was Sirius once again.

"Fascinating," Dumbledore mumbled. "How did you get here from your own... time… or dimension… whichever one is accurate?"

"Ahh… well… we _might_ have fallen through that veil in the death chamber…"

Dumbledore blinked in shock. "You were executed?" he asked suspiciously.

"NO!" Sirius loudly insisted. "Um… sorry. No, we weren't. There was a fight going on between the Death Eaters and us, and my crazy cousin Bellatrix stunned me and I fell backward through. These two idiots followed me through." Harry and Hermione looked indignant at being labeled 'idiots'.

"Hey!" Harry protested, "I didn't know that it was supposed to lead to death! I just wanted to reach my godfather!"

James was startled. "Godfather? Who were your parents?" he demanded.

Dumbledore waved dismissively. "Now isn't the time for that… that can be addressed later. I don't however, believe that you have to worry about wrecking the timeline because frankly, I think you left yours. If my theory is correct, and they usually are, then the veil was and is a gateway between dimensions. I'm not sure why you ended up _here_ , but maybe it was a subconscious desire of Sirius's to relive his old school days, and Harry and Hermione wanted to follow Sirius, so here you are."

"Now, I think I can accept you two as transfer students, though you may have to retake part of your fifth year, seeing as it is only October," he looked at Hermione's startled expression and decided to explain, "I heard Miss Granger muttering about OWL results as she came in." Hermione looked mollified. "And Sirius, I could take you as a Defense teacher, as our current one is only here on a favor to me, and is quite eager to leave."

Sirius nodded and the two teens grinned. "Right," Dumbledore picked up the Sorting Hat, "Gideon, would you sort these two for me please?"

Harry pulled on the Sorting Hat. "Albus," it said, "this one has already been sorted, he belongs in Gryffindor, though I can't remember ever sorting him."

Dumbledore frowned. "Of course. How silly of me. Sirius, can you take these two to Diagon Alley to purchase some supplies?"

"But I haven't any money," Sirius protested. Dumbledore pulled open a drawer to his desk and pulled out a key.

"Use my vault. A few supplies won't cost too much." Sirius thanked Dumbledore and took the key.

"We won't be long," he insisted, "I'm a quick shopper. Never liked it much."

Dumbledore smiled. "Use my floo," he offered.

* * *

An hour later, a happy Sirius, a frazzled Hermione, and a dazed Harry came out of Dumbledore's floo, Harry ending up sprawled out on the ground.

Hermione giggled and helped him up.

"Sirius, I'll take you to your quarters," Dumbledore suggested, "and you two can make your way to the Gryffindor common room. I trust that you know the way?" Harry and Hermione nodded.

Sirius walked over and knelt in front of Harry. "I know that you almost lost me yesterday, pup, but I promise I'll try to stay with you in the future, okay? I'll see you in class today. Now go talk to your parents!"

Harry smiled and nodded. Hermione grabbed his hand as they left the office.

As they walked down the hallway, Hermione squeezed his hand. "Are you okay with this? What's happening, I mean," Hermione asked carefully.

Harry sighed. "I'm not sure it's fully hit me yet. I mean, I'm still processing everything. Seriously, yesterday we were fighting for our lives after breaking into the Department of Mysteries, then fell through a veil that was supposed to lead to _instant death_ , and now we're in a dimension with my parents alive, in school, and who probably hate each other right now. How am I supposed to feel? And that doesn't even cover the all-encompassing guilt that I'll probably feel tomorrow for dragging you with me."

Hermione moved closer to him and laid her head on his shoulder. "I wanted to come with you. I couldn't bear the thought of not staying with you, so don't apologize or feel guilty for that. I would've been worse off thinking you were dead. Also, I think we'll find a way back. If you think about it, if Dumbledore's right, then all we'd have to do is to think that we want to get back to where we came from and jump through, and it would take us there."

Harry nodded, still feeling guilty, but less so now. "I want to stay here for a little though. Here, Voldemort probably isn't specifically targeting me, and I get to meet my parents and get to know them, even if they aren't the exact same versions of my parents back home."

They turned onto the hallway housing the portrait of the Fat Lady. "I'm staying with you, Harry," Hermione whispered, "always." Harry shivered as her words registered.

"Thank you, Hermione. I'll always stay with you too," he said softly, and Hermione's heart skipped a beat.

 _Did he say what I think he said?_ she thought. She didn't get any time to ponder it though, as they had reached the Fat Lady.

"Bugger," Harry swore, "we don't have the password." Hermione whacked him on the arm for his language.

"That's alright, dears," the portrait said. "I heard that you two are the transfer students that we're getting?" Harry nodded.

"The password is 'Lion's Pride' for the rest of the month," the portrait informed them as it swung open.

What Harry saw as he and Hermione walked into the almost empty common room would scar him for life.

"Harry," Hermione whispered, "Is that... is that a younger Professor Snape in _Gryffindor robes_ , having a _civil, not condescending_ conversation with your mum?"


	3. Chapter 2: Whirlwind

**Previously:**

_"That's alright, dears," the portrait said. "I heard that you two are the transfer students that we're getting?" Harry nodded._

_"The password is 'Lion's Pride' for the rest of the month," the portrait informed them as it swung open._

_What Harry saw as he and Hermione walked into the almost empty common room would scar him for life._

_"Harry," Hermione whispered, "Is that... is that a younger Professor Snape in Gryffindor robes, having a civil, not condescending conversation with your mum?"_

* * *

**Chapter 2:** Whirlwind

Harry stood frozen in place as he helplessly watched his mum and his most hated professor talk calmly on the couch in the Gryffindor common room.

Lily looked over her at the door, tearing her gaze away from Snape, and saw Harry and Hermione by the portrait. "James? I thought you were upstairs. Also, who's the girl? New girlfriend already?"

Harry cleared his throat awkwardly. "Um… I'm not James, I'm Harry. This is my best friend Hermione."

Lily nodded. "Nice to meet you, I'm Lily Evans."

Snape, _Gryffindor Snape_ stood and ran to the stairs leading to the boys' dorms.

"Oi, Potter!" he hollered, "Those transfer students you were talking about are here!" There was some muffled cursing and banging from above and the sound of feet hitting stairs filled the silent common room.

Snape turned to Harry. "Harry Potter? I'm Severus Snape. You can call me Severus." He jabbed a thumb over his shoulder at Lily. "That one is the only one who is allowed to call me Sev." He stuck his hand out in an offer of friendship.

Harry took it with his free hand warily, still holding Hermione's with his other. "Nice to meet you, Severus."

Hermione was about to introduce herself, but before she could, a magnificent stag tackled Snape, knocking the air out of his lungs. A grim calmly trotted over to Lily and licked her hand.

"Eww! Lily exclaimed. "Don't do that Sirius! That's gross!" The two smirking boys transformed back, Sirius with an eager expression.

"I wanna meet older me!" He exclaimed excitedly and Lupin and Peter came downstairs a bit more calmly.

Harry's eyes snapped to James, who shrugged, and said, "What was I supposed to do? They all saw you guys as well."

Harry nodded reluctantly and sat heavily down in an armchair, Hermione plopping down to his left. They all followed the example and took seats close to the duo, Severus and Lily looking confused.

Hermione looked at Lily and Severus. "Before you two ask anything, give Harry a chance to explain first."

The friends nodded eagerly, excited for the story that they assumed was coming.

Harry sighed wearily and Hermione patted his back comfortingly. "I'm from another dimension," he blurted. Only Severus and Lily looked shocked, confirming that the Marauders already knew. "Don't assume that this really affects any of you, because I've already noticed some different things here. For example, here Snape is a Gryffindor when back home he was a Slytherin. Sorry, by the way. Your counterpart wasn't the nicest to me... I might have trouble calling you anything but Snape for a little while."

Harry sighed again. "My parents were James and Lily Potter, the ones from my dimension. I was born on July 31st, 1980, and my parents died when I was fifteen months old, on Halloween 1981. They died protecting me from the Dark Lord named Voldemort."

James and Lily gaped, looking at each other and reddening. "When Voldemort shot an _Avada Kedavra_ at me, it bounced off of me and hit him instead leaving me with this scar, though he didn't die either, just lost his body. When I was fourteen, he regained a body, but the Ministry didn't believe me or Dumbledore when we tried to tell people. This year was my fifth year at school where a horrible ministry-appointed defense professor wouldn't teach us defense and tortured me with a blood quill for speaking out about Voldemort." He lifted up his hand to show the scar on the back reading _I shall not tell lies_.

"This scar," Harry pointed to his forehead, "is some kind of link to Voldemort. I got visions from him sometimes. Yesterday, he sent me a fake vision of my dimension's Sirius being tortured at the Department of Mysteries. I thought that it was real, and went there with my friends Ron, Ginny, Neville, Luna, and Hermione. When we discovered that it was a trap and that Voldemort's servants were there waiting for us, I took what they wanted, which was a prophecy concerning me, and tried to help my friends escape. He got trapped in the room with the veil of death. We thought we were screwed until our Sirius came rushing in with a few other people and started fighting Voldemort's servants. When Dumbledore came to help, everyone stopped fighting except for Sirius's crazy cousin Bellatrix and Sirius. Bellatrix stunned Sirius backward through the veil, and not knowing what it was, I jumped in after him. Apparently, Hermione also followed. We woke up in the death chamber of your universe." Harry concluded his story and then lied back against the couch, emotionally spent.

Severus broke the silence. "What about me, Remus, and Peter?"

Harry looked uncomfortable. "Remus was with us during the battle where we went through the veil, and seems to be about the same as he is here, but you are radically different. You were a Slytherin and James and Sirius constantly made fun of you and pranked you. You were my Potions professor for the past few years, and you disliked me strongly because of what my dad did to you in school. Since I look like him, you hated me and would provoke me in class so I would lose points and get detentions. Here, my first impression of you is that you're a pretty nice guy... but as I said, it might be difficult at first for me. Peter… I don't know your Peter yet, but I'm hoping he's different because he was the reason my parents died in my world. He sold them out to Voldemort."

Peter looked offended. "I'd never sell out my friends! These guys are the best things that ever happened to me!"

Harry nodded skeptically, not totally sure. "Okay. Anyway, we're going to stay here for a while before we figure out how to get home, and we need to know stuff about this dimension since we have absolutely no idea what anything is really like here."

Everyone was silent, absorbing the information that was just dumped onto them.

"Also," Harry said, "Keep in mind there are likely massive differences between dimensions. I mean, look at him." He gestured to Snape. "He is radically different from our Snape... at least from what I've seen."

Snape scowled.

James decided to help out the dimensional travelers. "I haven't heard of any 'Voldymert' here, and the last Dark Lord we had to deal with was Grindelwald, so I think you guys are free from him." Harry's posture visibly relaxed, until he thought of something else.

"Actually, have you guys heard of Tom Riddle?" Harry asked. Hermione looked surprised that she hadn't thought to ask this herself.

Peter nodded happily. "Yeah! He's really famous. He's like the number one Transfiguration master in the entire magical world right now. He's invented all sorts of stuff. James is obsessed with him." Harry and Hermione exchanged a wide-eyed glance which Snape noticed.

"What is it?" he asked curiously. Harry raised his wand and wrote out the words _Tom Marvolo Riddle_ , and then flicked his wand and they rearranged to _I am Lord Voldemort_.

James looked like he was about to cry. His role model's doppelgänger was a Dark Lord!

Sirius punched him. "Stop sniffling, you big baby, he's only a Dark Lord in an alternate dimension, not here!"

Hermione gave Harry a severe look. "Maybe, it would be a good idea to slow down."

Harry nodded sheepishly.

A few minutes later, and after a good amount of dimensional comparisons, the group of eight made their way out of the tower, the two dimensional travelers breaking off to go to the hospital wing to get treatment for their injuries sustained in the Department of Mysteries.

As the sextet made their way to the Great Hall, they discussed the recent events.

"I can't believe my son survived contact with a Dark Lord four times!" James boasted.

Sirius arched an eyebrow. "Your son is one of the first-ever dimensional travelers and you're bragging about him besting a measly Dark Lord with a fake name?"

Their conversation ceased, though, when they entered the Great Hall. Sitting at the head table in an animated conversation with McGonagall, was an older-looking Sirius Black. Dumbledore was mysteriously absent.

Sirius couldn't resist, "Damn! I look good for an older guy!"

James chortled as he poured some pumpkin juice. "Not sure I'd say that, mate. He looks like he's been through the washing machine a few too many times."

Sirius scowled at his best friend. "What would you know, you _Babbling Baboon!_ " At the end of his jibe, Sirius subtly flicked his wand at James under the table, adopting a smug look on his face when James couldn't do anything but babble.

"Stop bickering. You two are like a married couple," Snape drawled, absently releasing James from the hex. The "bickering couple" in question blushed.

Suddenly, their conversation was interrupted again as Harry and Hermione burst into the hall, followed by Dumbledore, and made a beeline for the older Sirius.

"I guess that explains where Dumbledore was," Sirius stage-whispered to Lily, his voice somewhat distorted from the egg it contained.

Lily gave him a revolted look, informing him quite clearly that his table manners were nauseating, not that he seemed to care, opening his mouth and showing Lily the contents, looking almost proud.

Harry came over to them, leaned down and whispered something to James, grabbed a peach, and left the hall quickly, rushing to catch up to Hermione who was looking decidedly miffed.

"What'd he say?" Peter asked, spooning some more eggs while pointedly ignoring the whimpers Sirius was making, pressing his hand to his crotch and mentally bemoaning Lily, and how good she was at punching a guy in the stones.

James looked overwhelmed. Apparently, the shocks just kept coming. "It appears that someone placed illegal blocks on Harry and Hermione's magic. Why their dimension's Madam Pomphrey never noticed is beyond me, but they're popping over to St. Mungo's to have it fixed."

Snape hissed angrily. "Those can have long-term effects if they are left in place! It damages mental performance as well, not just magical power."

James nodded after wiping his mouth. "Yeah, I know. Also, Harry's connection to Voldemort was deliberately implanted as well, and it wasn't placed by Voldemort himself. Harry thinks that it was done by the same person who did the blocks."

"We'll find out who did it later when they get back," Remus pointed out reasonably. "I'm going to tune you hooligans out now and finish eating."

* * *

On the fourth floor of St. Mungo's Hospital for Magical Maladies and Injuries, Harry and Hermione were led to a room by a short, brown-haired healer. Said healer looked startled when he noticed that Dumbledore and Sirius had both followed him to the room.

The healer was about to ask them to leave before he called security, but Dumbledore spoke up in his most grandfatherly voice as the two teens sat down on the edge of a bed, "These two fine children have had illegal magical and physical blocks placed on them." Harry and Hermione's heads shot up when physical blocks were mentioned. "We would like to be present to ensure that nothing goes awry. I am Albus Dumbledore, after all."

The healer looked embarrassed. "My apologies, Headmaster, I meant no disrespect." He waved his wand over the heads of the teens, and his eyebrows shot to his hairline.

"Hmm… Very complex…" he mused. "I could use your help with this, actually, Headmaster."

"Certainly!" Dumbledore exclaimed jovially.

Dumbledore stepped forward and cast a detection spell of his own, and looked possibly even more surprised than the healer. "I've never examined anything this complex cast by anyone other than me! In fact, this looks like exactly how I would go about applying blocks if I was so inclined. Curious..." Dumbledore chanted a long string of Latin while making complex wand movements, slowly breaking down the blocks on Harry.

Once he was done, Harry glowed a blinding white, causing everyone to shield their eyes. When they looked back, Harry didn't look too different, but he seemed to now exude a _presence_ , something Hermione hadn't noticed in anyone apart from Dumbledore. This meant to Hermione that a considerable portion of his core had been inaccessible to him previously, as the taste of his magic now permeated the air close to him. When he looked at her, she noticed that his eyes seemed to glow greener, sending shivers down her spine. Noticing her reaction to his gaze, he began to look concerned, and Hermione noticed that his magic began to react to that, reaching out and surrounding her, comforting her. She involuntarily relaxed and enjoyed the warmth of his magic, until it receded when his concern ebbed.

She looked around and noticed that Dumbledore had been watching her reactions to Harry's subtle changes and had smiled softly when he saw her relax.

She tensed, however, when Dumbledore started to chant and wave again, subconsciously anticipating the pain that breaking the blocks would cause. When it was all over, she would wonder how she had known it would hurt, but at the moment, she was too preoccupied with the all-encompassing pain that pervaded her body, making her convulse. She calmed slightly but not totally when she felt the comforting embrace of Harry's concern and continued to convulse until the blocks were all broken and she was bathed in a white light similar to what came from Harry.

Hermione was stunned. Her magic seemed different. It felt much more powerful. She could feel it swirling around her in a similar manner to Harry's. She could feel it in her veins and, she could feel it interacting with Harry's as if they were probing the magic of the other, to become more familiar. She heard Harry gasp, and she knew that he felt it too.

They both relaxed as their magics mixed with each other as if playing a game with a purpose that only they were privy to. She reached out and placed a tentative hand on Harry's arm and her eyes shot open wider as she felt a jolt go up her arm and spread all over her body. She knew Harry had felt it too, as he had adopted the same wide-eyed expression as her.

The peaceful atmosphere was shattered as Dumbledore clapped his hands together, clearly excited. "Excellent. This part will be even more flashy because as powerful as Harry seems now, the connection is sustained by his own magic, so Harry will be even more powerful once the portion of his core dedicated to the connection is freed." After that explanation, Harry looked eager, and the healer looked very confused and out of place.

"Miss Granger," Dumbledore said gently, "Would you mind terribly if I asked you to please remove your hand from Mr. Potter's arm?" Hermione blushed, not even realizing that she was still holding on. Dumbledore nodded in thanks, and then looked back at Harry, who had suddenly tensed. "Please relax, Harry. This will not hurt. In fact, this should feel like a great burden is being lifted from your soul."

Harry nodded hesitantly, remembering Hermione's and his own pain when their blocks were removed. Dumbledore began to chant in Latin again, but this time kept his wand carefully pressed against Harry's scar. After around fifteen seconds, Dumbledore pulled his wand away and Harry's scar became much less defined.

"You will still always have this scar, I will not be able to affect that, but it will be much less noticeable from now on," Dumbledore informed him.

Harry, however, didn't hear Dumbledore's words, he was struggling to control his magic, as its output had increased dramatically with the removal of the connection. It felt as if his magic was trying to escape from every orifice and every pore. He couldn't hold it all in, so he let go, desperately hoping nobody would be hurt.

A massive surge of power came from Harry, knocking the power out in muggle homes within three-hundred yards of him, but the surge only generated a faint breeze inside the hospital room.

Hermione shivered again as Harry's magic washed over her. She couldn't explain the sensation. She had felt the magic of others before, It didn't make sense that Harry's magic had evoked such a reaction from hers. The only real explanation she could come up with was that her magic and his magic had just recently become more powerful. But then, that would mean that the strange feeling would eventually subside, and Hermione somehow instinctively knew that that wouldn't happen.

Everything about their situation now was completely mental, Hermione decided. They fell through the veil of _death_ into another dimension, where they befriended the doppelgängers of Harry's parents (and friends). Harry's mum was dating Snape who was _actually cool_ , and somehow they had illegal magical blocks on them and apparently someone had fabricated Harry's mental connection with Voldemort. That didn't even cover the fact that here, the last Dark Lord was Grindelwald, and Tom Riddle is a famous law-abiding Transfiguration master. Then, when the blocks were broken, Harry's magic made her _shiver._

 _What the heck is going on?_ Hermione thought, finally overwhelmed.

Hermione was startled out of her thoughts by Dumbledore, who began to speak again. "I can only think of one person who could cast these blocks and create that horrific connection. Mr. Potter, I'm sorry, but the only possible conclusion is that my doppelgänger cast these. The magical signature is too similar to mine to dismiss."

Hermione fainted dead away. Too much craziness had happened in the previous twenty-four hours for her rational, logic-driven mind to process. This was just the final straw.

Harry grabbed Hermione as she slumped over to stop her from hitting the ground, and laid her down on the bed.

Sirius burst out in outrage, "You mean that our Albus stunted Harry and Hermione's magical and physical development? AND made a fake connection to a Dark Lord? Why in the name of Merlin would he do that?"

Dumbledore rubbed his eyes wearily. "I'd assume that he'd want to control the savior of the magical community. He'd want the glory that came from mentoring and advising him. I know this because I used to be like this myself. However, it was like a slap in the face when I tried to do this to a young prodigy named Tom Riddle and he almost turned dark. After that, I realized the error of my ways and resolved to never attempt it again."

Sirius eyed Dumbledore warily. "I'll assume that our Albus never had this awakening?"

Dumbledore nodded hesitantly. "Since Tom turned dark in your timeline, I'm just going to assume that something else caused his eventual descent into darkness, because if he had caused it, then he'd probably have reformed himself as well."

The healer looked completely baffled. "Excuse me, could someone explain to me exactly what has happened here?" he asked.

Dumbledore obliviated him. "I'm sorry, in my excitement, I forgot he was here," he explained apologetically.

As the healer blinked, recovering from the selective obliviation, Dumbledore spoke to him. "The blocks have all been removed. Thank you for your time, honorable healer."

The healer nodded dazedly while Harry woke Hermione. The group of four then made their way to the lobby where they flooed back to Hogwarts.

Dumbledore waved to them as they left his office, and Sirius said goodbye before heading to his classroom to begin teaching his first class.

Their first day of classes was a whirl. The most notable changes in their education were a competent Potions professor and the best Defense lesson they ever had. Harry and Hermione were justifiably surprised when they experienced Sirius's lesson. They never expected him to be so good as a teacher.

_Just as Harry and Hermione made it to their seats, the doors to the classroom swung open dramatically, and Professor Sirius Black stepped through, holding himself proudly._

_He marched to the front of the room, spun around, winked at Harry, and then proceeded to call out attendance._

" _Now…" he looked around the room imperiously, "what have your teachers been teaching you?"_

_Remus raised his hand and when called on, listed a bunch of dark creatures and a few basic jinxes._

_Sirius looked disturbed at the lack of proper defense instruction. "Well… today you will learn the disarming charm and the basic shield charm; Expelliarmus and Protego. Pair up! Mr. Potter and Miss Granger, help those that need assistance, as I know that you two already can do this."_

After they had helped a few students by correcting their wand movements and stances, Sirius called them to the front of the room, while the rest of the class continued to practice. He quickly informed them that after classes, they were to see the headmaster and begin their training. Apparently, Dumbledore had tasked the Unspeakables in the Department of Mysteries with finding them a way home, and their dimension still had its Dark Lord problem.

The estimated time of completion, according to the Unspeakables, was unspecified, but somewhere over three years.

Upon hearing this, Hermione burst into tears, and Harry closed off his emotions to keep them at bay.

Harry and Hermione kept to themselves for the rest of the day's classes, only speaking when spoken to. The Marauders were confused at this turn of events. They had thought that Harry and Hermione were relatively sociable, and didn't hear what the older Sirius said to them until lunch when they interrogated Harry and Hermione.

They were torn between cheering that they would have new friends for a while and keeping the celebration to themselves because of Harry and Hermione's reaction to the news.

The correct choice was clear.

They whooped and hollered, yelling their joy to the heavens.

When Harry looked at them furiously, clearly outraged, James stepped forward and explained that they were happy because their new friends weren't leaving so soon, and most importantly, they wouldn't get killed by a megalomaniac as they got home.

"How the hell does being stuck here for three years help?" Harry snapped.

"Intense training," James suggested. "But if you do that, I want in!" The rest of the Marauders plus Lily and Snape looked just as excited at the prospect of advanced training.

Harry looked properly abashed, not having thought of that. He quickly apologized for his outburst.

Then, the expressions worn by the Marauders, Lily, and Snape darkened as they were told what Harry and Hermione's Dumbledore did to them.

The rest of the classes were a blur. Soon, Harry could be seen leading their group of eight to Dumbledore's office to request for them to be involved in the training.

Dumbledore took one look at the eager faces worn by his students and his resolve crumbled.

The first day was a planning meeting. Dumbledore made a list of things that would be useful to learn, and the students provided suggestions to add and remove things from his list.

By the end of the meeting they had a tentative list consisting of the following:

For fifth-year:

\- Animagus training (non-Marauders)

\- Advanced defensive magic (Harry and Hermione)

\- Intermediate/advanced defensive magic (Marauders, Snape, and Lily)

\- Controlling power output (Harry and Hermione)

\- Silent casting

For sixth-year:

\- Combat-oriented Transfiguration

\- Combat-oriented Charms

\- Muggle fighting

For seventh-year:

\- Formal dueling

\- Stealth training

\- Basic wandless magic

Harry, Lily, and Hermione were shaking with excitement at the thought of all of the new skills. Sirius, Remus, Peter, and James looked disturbed at the thought of what they would be learning _on top of_ all of their classes. Snape looked mildly interested.

As they walked back to Gryffindor Tower, all present reflected on their past day.

Harry was pissed at his dimension's Dumbledore.

Hermione was pissed at her dimension's Dumbledore.

Sirius was pissed at Harry and Hermione's Dumbledore.

James was pissed at Harry and Hermione's Dumbledore.

Lily was pissed at Harry and Hermione's Dumbledore.

Snape was pissed at Harry and Hermione's Dumbledore.

Remus was pissed at Harry and Hermione's Dumbledore.

Peter was pissed at Harry and Hermione's Dumbledore.

Alternatively, everyone was very excited at the thought of advanced training, though the Marauders were a little wary of the workload.

Harry Potter was an explosive brew of happiness and confusion. He was starting to see the benefit of staying here for a while. They'd train, finish school, and finally expand their group of friends. Harry would never admit it out loud, but he had recently been wishing that he had more friends than just Ron and Hermione. Sure, he was somewhat close to Luna, Ginny, and Neville, but he really spent most of his time with Ron and Hermione, and he needed more friends. Despite the fact that they were great friends to have, he couldn't spend the rest of his days with only two people that he ever really did anything with.

Now, he had the opportunity to make new friends. Granted, they were the doppelgängers of his parents and friends, but they seemed like really nice people.

Plus, he was now more powerful than ever and didn't have a parasitical connection to Voldemort stuck in his forehead anymore.

The only thing that was confusing him now was Hermione. He kept on getting these strange tingly feelings that were similar to what he had felt around Cho earlier in the year. Plus, there was a _really_ weird feeling that he kept on getting once his magical and physical blocks were removed whenever he and Hermione were close together. It was almost if their magics were interacting with each other. The worst part was that it felt really good. Today, he had noticed for the second time how good Hermione looked.

Slowly, piece by piece, he put the clues together and realized that he fancied Hermione Granger.

 _Why did it take me falling through the Veil for me to notice this?_ He cried out mentally.

He was, however, still completely baffled by everything that had just happened. Even after thinking about things, he was still shocked by everything. He was sure that it hadn't completely sunk in yet, and he was equally sure that he was going to unconsciously bottle up his emotions when it _did_ hit him, making him and everyone around him miserable.

He did _not_ , however, have any idea how to solve that particular problem.

Hermione Granger was having the best and worst day of her life. Best, because she had made several new friends, been given the opportunity to get advanced training in several subjects, and it seemed like Harry was beginning to return her affections.

Yes, Hermione Granger fancied Harry Potter. She had for a while, though she couldn't quite place when she had started to feel that way.

There was a few negatives to the whole scenario, however. They were now stuck here for three years, and she wouldn't see her parents for that amount of time, nor would she see her beloved familiar Crookshanks, though she was sure Harry was feeling the same about Hedwig, his owl. She was especially worried, though, about that prophecy that she and Harry had heard minutes before falling through the Veil. She would have to analyze it in detail later, to determine possible meanings besides the obvious. She was sure that the ramifications of the prophecy had not fully hit Harry, and was determined to be there for him when they did.

He had just gone through so much in the past day, and she was just sure that he was bottling it all up. That was, admittedly, what he had been doing over the past year, bottling it all up.

No, she wouldn't allow him to do that anymore. She was going to help, whether he wanted her to or not!

Another thing that had shocked her was the actions of one Albus Percival Wulfric Brian Dumbledore, the one from her dimension. Because of him, her faith in authority figures had been irrevocably shaken. The Dumbledore here seemed nice though.

She wasn't about to blindly trust him, though.

James Potter was shocked. Almost to the point of being figuratively electrocuted. He was sure he was in denial about the whole situation anyway.

Sirius Black was also shocked, but mostly disappointed. He hadn't gotten a chance to talk to his doppelgänger yet! It was very sad. Maybe he would get to talk to him tomorrow? Sirius perked up at this thought, looking much happier.

Severus Snape was pleased. Harry Potter was cool. Hermione Granger was cool. They were friends now. Sure, some crazy shit had happened today, but he'd think about it later.

Lily Evans was so _proud_ of Harry. She wasn't entirely sure where the maternal instincts came from but, she couldn't help imagine what it would be like if Harry was legitimately her and James' child.

Remus Lupin was unconcerned. He would think about it later. No matter what, he was happy that he had two new friends and that they were staying for a while.

Peter Pettigrew was offended. He would never betray his friends! He couldn't believe that his doppelgänger had. What an idiot. That guy must have not appreciated what he had, or he must have been jealous.

Peter was not jealous. He was very happy with the friends that he had and even happier that he now had two new friends that seemed really nice.

A first-year walking past the large group wondered why almost everyone there looked thoughtful, and why everyone was quiet.

He realized that he must have been looking too closely when the boy with the long and greasy black hair glared at him.

His stomach did a flip and he walked faster, desperate to get away from the scary fifth-year.


	4. Chapter 3: Family

**Previously:**

_A first-year walking past the large group wondered why almost everyone there looked thoughtful, and why everyone was quiet._

_He realized that he must have been looking too closely when the boy with the long and greasy black hair glared at him._

_His stomach did a flip and he walked faster, desperate to get away from the scary fifth-year._

* * *

**Chapter 3:** Family

For the rest of the week, Harry and Hermione slowly got to know the Marauders, Lily, and Snape a bit better. They discovered that this Snape was snarky, but somehow managed to throw insults in such a way that it almost always seemed humorous, and never really hurt the person being insulted.

He seemed like a pretty easy-going person, but Harry and Hermione soon discovered that he could prank pretty viciously if provoked.

_Severus Snape walked down the hallway purposefully, heading down to breakfast. As he walked, he noticed that people seemed to avoid him more than usual today. He wasn't sure why but ignored it in favor of his appetite._

_Sitting down at his usual seat at the Gryffindor table, he noticed that no-one was sitting near him._

_Then, he looked down at his robes and scowled, seeing as they were pitch black, rather than the normal Hogwarts robes. He assumed that they had been transfigured by that oaf,_ Potter _, on his way to breakfast. But then, he smelt the subtle scent of a potion, and sighed, clearly annoyed._

_Several seventh-years who had been passing him at the time jumped back in fright, one emitting a pathetic squeak._

_There was a potion in his robes, one that made him seem very intimidating. He banged his head on the table and everyone in the hall flinched at the noise._

_Snape huffed and resolved to get those two Potters back as soon as possible._

_He leaned over and quickly inscribed some runes to the bottom of the cups at the seats that both Potters generally sat at._

Twenty minutes later, Harry and James Potter walked into the Great Hall, animatedly discussing Quidditch.

" _Oh. Hi, Snape," Harry said, smirking, "You're looking particularly_ dashing _today."_

_James disguised a laugh as a cough. Snape ignored them._

_Harry looked at James and shrugged. The boy mirrored his expression. They sat down and started gathering some food and drink. Then, they both took sips of pumpkin juice, unfortunately at the same time._

_Snape looked up, smirking as Harry and James were slowly transformed into porcupines._

_He very carefully stifled a grin. It wouldn't do to get caught this early._ This _was unexpected. Hmm... apparently he had messed up on one of the runes._

_Harry was a male porcupine while James was a female._

_To the general amusement and disgust of everyone in the great hall, the two porcupines began snogging._

_Snape was intrigued by this turn of events. He didn't know that porcupines could snog._

_After a minute of snogging, Snape decided to take mercy on them and nullified the runes. Harry and James turned back to themselves, still locked into an embrace. The two separated instantly and fled the hall, mortified._

_The pair passed Hermione as they left, who wiggled her eyebrows at the pair, making Harry blush even more, and making James turn slightly green._

Harry never pranked Snape again.

Harry and Hermione also soon found out why none of the Marauders would dare prank Lily. She was the definition of fiery.

Apparently, her temper was legendary, and the duo's first experience of her temper came later on that day when she caught Snape copying her homework.

" _SEVERUS SNAPE!" boomed a loud, female voice. Snape immediately looked terrified and was frozen to his seat while the rest of the students in the common room fled the scene of whatever crime had been perpetrated against the "Fiery Gryffindor Demon," as some called her. Harry, however, did not flee, because he was curious to see what would happen. This was a golden opportunity to get to know his mother's doppelgänger._

_Hermione didn't flee either, as she was too terrified. Lily's angry yell reminded her of her mother, Jean Granger when she was on a rampage. Instead of fleeing, she gripped Harry's hand tightly. Noticing her distress, Harry put an arm around her shoulders and she snuggled into him as Lily stalked and stomped into the room._

_When she reached Snape, her voice lowered to a deadly whisper. "Severus Snape, have you been copying my arithmancy essay..."_

_She paused for a second, taking a deep breath as if to fill her lungs with dragon-fire. "...AGAIN?" she boomed._

_Hermione's arms snaked around Harry's waist as she was reminded further of her own mother._

_Snape shivered in fear and tried to explain himself. "I… I - uh… Youknowyou'rereallygoodatarithmancyandI'mcompletelyshittyatitsoIreallyneededhelpsoIusedyouressaybecauseIthoughtIcoulduseitasanexample?" he blurted eloquently._

_Harry stifled a grin watching the normally cool and collected Severus Snape squirm under his friend's angry glare._

_Lily grabbed Snape by the ear and dragged him out of the room, cursing under her breath and muttering about lazy fools that she really ought to give a good beating._

_By this point, Hermione was practically on Harry's lap she was hugging him so tightly._

Harry was even learning new things about Hermione. Apparently, her Mum had a temper that was downright unpleasant some times, and would often take it out on Hermione.

" _Hermione?" Harry asked as Lily dragged Snape away._

" _Mhm?" she mumbled into his chest._

" _Why were you so unsettled by Lily's temper, if you don't mind me asking?"_

_She turned her head up to look at him. "My mum," she stated blandly. "She's got a temper too. She'd never physically hurt me, but on bad days, when she and Dad come home from work, she'd tear into me for the smallest slights. Sometimes, she'd be perfectly pleasant, and others, she'd be aggressive, and frankly, quite nasty. I never really knew what to expect. Nice Mum, or angry Mum? Lily's temper just brought up some memories. I'm sorry for bothering you."_

_She moved to extricate herself from Harry, but he kept his arms around her. "You never bother me," he said firmly and sincerely._

_She smiled softly and relaxed into his embrace once more._

_When Snape and Lily returned shortly after, Snape looking thoroughly cowed, they exchanged a glance and left quickly and quietly, not wanting to impede on such a private moment._

The rest of the Marauders, Harry discovered, were apparently just like their doppelgängers, except for Peter, who was less inclined to betray his friends.

Sirius was ecstatic to meet his doppelgänger. He had eagerly asked several questions, such as " _Did you ever get in a serious relationship?"_ and " _Is Mum just as bad in your dimension?"_

Older Sirius had answered with a blush that he had previously been engaged to Amelia Bones before he was thrown in Azkaban. A little more calmly, Sirius answered the second question, stating that his "Mum" was dead, and had been for quite a few years.

At this, Younger Sirius's mouth had flapped, showing his astonishment, and then he collected himself, and asked rather politely if he could go back with Older Sirius, Harry, and Hermione. This indicated that this dimension's Walburga Black was just as bad as the one in the Older Sirius's dimension.

When that desire was articulated, it was Older Sirius's turn to be astonished. He said he'd discuss it with Dumbledore if Younger Sirius was sincere.

* * *

During the first week of November, Dumbledore had Horace Slughorn, the Hogwarts potions master, brew the animagus revealing potion.

When Slughorn asked what it was for, Dumbledore shrugged indifferently and said it was "for a project of mine."

During the second week of November, the octet made their way to Dumbledore's office for one of their lessons.

"Acid Pops," Harry said as they approached the office. The gargoyle slid to the side and the group entered.

As they approached Dumbledore, who was sitting at his desk, he conjured a few chairs. They all sat, and Dumbledore gestured to a bowl on his desk, that contained a green potion. "This is the animagus revealing potion. When you drink it, you will enter a trance, where your form will approach you."

He conjured four goblets and filled them with the potion. "For it to work properly, you will each need a strand of your own hair to be placed in your potion," Dumbledore explained.

Harry grinned at Hermione, who began to look confused at Harry's expression, then reached over and yanked a strand of hair off the top of her head. She yelped and glared at him while he politely held out the strand.

"Here you go, my dear lady," Harry said pompously. She struggled not to smile at this display, wanting to appear miffed at him for a time.

She lost her battle to remain stoic when he waved the strand in her face. She snatched it from his hand and grinned at him, then promptly plopped it in her goblet. Then, she remembered that they had an audience, and looked at the wide grins all directed at her.

"What?" she asked exasperatedly. Everyone simultaneously averted their eyes, and Harry snorted.

Hermione chuckled, then reached over and yanked out a strand of Harry's hair in retaliation.

"Hey!" he protested feebly.

"Hypocrite!" she challenged.

He looked at her defiantly and snatched the strand of his hair back, gently placing it in his goblet.

"Ready?" Lily asked impatiently, distracting the couple, who had been staring at each other, eyes narrowed. They each blushed and picked up their goblets in sync.

"Ready," Harry and Hermione asserted in harmony.

"Bottoms up," Snape drawled. They all gulped down the potion.

They all would have complained about the taste but were immersed in a trance.

As the four slumped in their chairs, James turned to Sirius. "Five galleons says Harry and Hermione are a couple by Christmas," he offered.

Sirius looked pensive. "I'll take that bet. I think they'll be together by New Years' day at noon."

"But after Christmas?" James interjected, making sure their bets didn't overlap.

Sirius nodded, and they shook hands. James thought that Sirius was an idiot for making his guess over such a short interval, but he wasn't going to look a gift horse in the mouth.

Remus shook his head wearily. "You guys are really doing this?" he asked. "Hermione'll be mad when she finds out you have a bet going."

James looked at Remus suspiciously. "Why d'you think she's gonna find out? Don't tell me you're gonna tell her?" he accused.

Remus backpedaled quickly. "No, no. I wouldn't do that," he insisted.

Dumbledore pretended to be invisible, knowing that the humorous interactions would stop once they remembered that he was there.

* * *

Harry was cold. Also, he was apparently not wearing any clothing. If he had to guess, this was the animagus trance, though he had no idea what he was supposed to be seeing as everything was pitch black.

Suddenly, his eyes were flooded with light, and he had to blink rapidly before he could see clearly.

He was in some kind of rainforest, though it looked oddly devoid of wildlife. He reckoned that that was because the only animal he would see would be his form.

He decided to walk around a bit to see if he could find his form.

After a few minutes of fruitless walking, he heard a predatory growl from behind him and practically jumped out of his skin.

When he turned to look, he saw a very noble-looking black panther with eyes the same color as Harry's. Though despite the irises of his eyes being green, what would normally be the whites of its eyes looked like they were bathed in shadow. Harry was intrigued as he examined the dark grey swirling around.

"Wow," Harry whispered, "you must be my form."

The panther nodded and crept closer. Harry dropped to his knees and felt the panther's fur.

 _So soft,_ he thought. _I can't wait 'till I transform._

The panther looked into his eyes again, and his vision faded to black once more.

* * *

Hermione was very cold, very naked, and very irritated. As her senses were overwhelmed with light and blistering heat enveloped her, she supposed that maybe she was lucky to not be wearing any clothing.

Once her vision cleared, she looked around and determined that she was in a desert.

She could see nothing but sand and dunes. Since nothing was currently happening, she laid down, resting her hands on her stomach.

A few minutes later, something wet came into contact with her cheek, and she squeaked indignantly and scrambled to get up. She gasped when she saw what had licked her.

A red fox was looking at her inquisitively with its head tilted slightly to the left.

"Wow," she murmured. "Are you my form?"

The fox nodded, and she stepped forward and knelt down next to it to further examine it.

It was beautiful, she decided. Its orangish fur shone in the sun and the white underbelly contrasted brilliantly with the orange. The only disconcerting part was that the eyes looked very human, and appeared to be a replica of her own eyes.

As she stared deeply into the eyes that looked so similar to her own, her vision faded to black once more, and with it, the heat receded as well.

* * *

Lily shivered in the cold, and frantically looked around, wondering where she was, but the only thing that she could see was black. Although she couldn't see, she could tell that her body was completely exposed to the world - er - wherever she was now.

With a flash of light, her surroundings made themselves visible. She was standing in the middle of a vast grassland. The tall grass tickled her sides and a light breeze ruffled her hair.

She looked around, turning slowly in a circle, and saw no variation in the environment around her. It was just tall grass as far as she could see.

Wondering how she would possibly find her form here, she took a few hesitant steps forward, pressing the long blades of grass flat on the ground as she stepped on them.

Suddenly, a slight rustling noise reached her ears and she jumped slightly. As she landed back on the ground, she somehow managed to lose her footing and fell down, hitting the grass and dirt with a quiet _thump_.

Scrambling away from the noise, she looked in the direction of it and noticed a regal-looking tiger. She sighed in relief and started inwardly berating herself for being afraid of something that was literally part of her.

She shifted to a kneeling position and signaled to the tiger to come closer, and it did. She brushed her hand over its fur, reveling in its softness.

Examining it, she determined that it looked similar to most of the pictures of tigers that she had seen at home, and that the only really significant difference was that the part of the fur that was usually orange had a slightly red tint, but it wasn't that noticeable.

Her last thought as she once more lost consciousness was that her form's eyes were as green as hers.

* * *

Severus Snape was pissed. Very pissed. All he could figure was that he was in a _very_ cold place, and there was _no_ light.

He strongly disliked the cold. That wasn't helped by the fact that he was completely unclothed, which exposed him to the cold even more.

As his surroundings came into focus, he was displeased to note that it wasn't much brighter here, and the temperature was still annoyingly frigid. Looking around, he scowled.

 _He was in a cave_.

 _Figures_ , he thought wryly, _Of course, 'Batman'_ (nickname recently coined by James Charlus Potter and Harry James Potter, with input from Hermione Jean Granger) _had to have a form in such a dark and dingy place._

He flinched as he heard a high pitched squeak. Whirling around, he snarled angrily as he saw his form.

Muttering expletives under his breath cursing magic and "that damned potion," he turned away from the bat.

As his vision faded to black, he decided that Harry and James were never going to let him hear the end of this.

* * *

"HER?" Remus asked loudly, expressing his disbelief while Dumbledore looked like he wanted to be anywhere but here at the moment.

Sirius blushed and mumbled an affirmative.

"Wow!" Remus said, "Shooting high, Pads!"

"It's just a crush, guys," Sirius said awkwardly.

"I know, Sirius, but you're talking about _Jessica Cambridge_. She's like one of the most popular girls in our year, and she is actually a decent person!" Peter explained. "Most of the guys in our year have got a crush on her, apart from us, of course. You'll have a lot of competition, dude."

"It's just a crush!" Sirius insisted.

"No, it's not," James said firmly. "I see how you look at her. Harry's noticed it too. He pointed it out to me, and I could see your dreamy expression very clearly."

They all jumped when a voice came from the group of now-conscious individuals who had, until recently, been under the influence of an animagus potion.

"Since when is Harry observant?" Hermione teased.

Harry mock-scowled at her. "Hey! I'm pretty observant!" he insisted half-heartedly.

She patted him on the arm consolingly. " _Sure_ you are," she drawled.

"Well, it _was_ pretty obvious," James piped up. Sirius scowled.

Harry pouted adorably.

" _Anyway_ ," Snape drawled. "Let's discuss what we came here for."

James brightened. "Right." He whipped around to face Harry. "What was your form?" he asked excitedly.

Harry smiled fondly. "Some type of panther. It was black, but the only thing that I could find that was abnormal was that the whites of its eyes looked sort of _shadowy_ , almost. It's like the grey was swirling around or something. I dunno what that means, but I thought it was pretty cool."

Hermione gasped. "Harry!" she exclaimed. "That means that you're a shadow panther! Those are really rare magical creatures!"

Harry looked intrigued. "How does that differ from normal panthers?" James asked.

Hermione went into lecture-mode. "The reason that they're called shadow panthers is really only because of their eyes like Harry mentioned, but they have a few different qualities. For example, they're quite a bit faster than normal panthers, and a little stronger, though not much. They're considered magical creatures mainly because Muggles can't see them."

James looked disappointed. "I thought that meant that they could travel through shadows or something. That would be cool," James said.

Hermione scoffed. "That sounds completely ridiculous. How can anything travel through shadow? Shadow is just an absence of light or at least a lesser amount of it. Though I guess with magic you never know."

"Cool," Harry said. "What was your form, Hermione? I bet it was like an owl or something, 'cause you're really smart."

Hermione glared at him. "I am _not_ an owl!" she exclaimed indignantly. "Are my brains my only good quality to you?"

Harry blushed and stuttered out something incoherent before collecting himself and apologizing. "Sorry, 'Mione. I just thought that it made sense, 'cause you are really smart. That doesn't mean that you aren't good in other ways, though. It's just the way that most people instantly think of you."

Hermione was mostly mollified but wanted to get in the last word. "And - did you think about my fear of heights?" she snapped. "You know I hate flying - why on earth would I be an owl?" Then, her voice lowered. "You know how I don't like it when all I'm known for is smarts! Does ' _know-it-all bookworm'_ ring any bells?"

Harry looked properly abashed while the rest of the room's inhabitants looked at Hermione in disbelief. "Sorry," he muttered. "I was just trying to compliment you. I never meant it that way."

Hermione felt quite guilty after that and was about to apologize for her remarks, but James quickly steered the conversation back on track. "So… Hermione, what was _actually_ your form?" he asked hesitantly, unsure if Hermione would be hostile to him as well.

"A red fox," she said in a small voice, though the barest hint of pride crept into her words.

Everyone looked proud of her, except for Harry, who kept his gaze fixed to the ground. This only hardened Hermione's resolve to apologize later on and pull him out of his newly constructed shell.

Noticing the tension, Snape put his own irritation to the side and attempted to lighten the conversation. "I'm a bat," he stated matter-of-factly.

James and Sirius howled with laughter, while Hermione gave a fond smile at their antics. Even though they weren't falling off of their chairs, Lily, Remus, and Peter were laughing uproariously. Dumbledore had a fierce twinkle in his eye, and Harry had a slight quirk of the lips, even in his emotional state.

James finally calmed slightly, though he was still chuckling. By that point, the room was once more silent, and everyone was in their seats again.

James grinned. "What should we call him?" he asked.

Snape raised a single eyebrow.

Hermione and Harry both spoke at the same time. "Batman."

They quickly looked at each other, startled, while the rest of the room bar Snape once again dissolved into hysterical laughter.

As Harry refocused his eyes on the ground in front of him, Hermione felt another wave of guilt. James was oblivious to this, however, and looked positively gleeful.

"Yes! Batman is perfect!" he exclaimed.

As the laughter continued to echo around the room, Snape groaned and hid his face in his hands but was satisfied with himself for lightening the mood.

"Right!" Lily called, "Moving along! I'm a tiger!"

James's demeanor shifted drastically. One minute he was laughing, the next minute he was cowering, looking incredibly afraid.

Sirius looked at James sympathetically, understanding his fear. Her temper was already legendary. It didn't need the aid of a tiger.

Remus clasped his hands together excitedly. "Let's do names now that we know everyone's forms," he suggested.

James, who had seemingly made a miraculous recovery from his fright, nodded eagerly and started blurting out random names for Harry.

After about fifteen terrible suggestions, Sirius shook his head disappointedly and voiced his idea. "How about Shadow? I've always wanted to call someone that."

This attracted Harry's attention. "I like that name," he said quietly. Everyone exchanged glances, still surprised at how much Hermione had caused him to withdraw.

After everyone had agreed on Harry's name, there was some spirited debate over Hermione's.

"How about Veda?" Peter suggested. "It means wisdom or knowledge."

Hermione wanted to be annoyed, she really did, but she felt guilty already about snapping at Harry for a somewhat similar remark and knew that Peter meant nothing bad by this.

She really didn't like the name though.

James watched the emotions flash over Hermione's face and suggested another name. "How about Claws? Um - foxes have claws… right?"

Hermione nodded thoughtfully. "I think that it may sound a bit masculine," Hermione mused, "but I like it. I think it sounds cool - and yes James, foxes do have claws, I'm pretty sure."

James nodded.

"Severus is Batman, right?" Sirius asked with a grin. The boy in question groaned.

"Yes," James answered with a gleam in his eye.

"Now," he said, "it's time for Lily! What should we call you?"

"How about Tigger?" Snape suggested with a straight face.

Sirius sniggered while Lily smacked Snape on the arm, who was grinning.

"How about Lyssa?" Hermione said.

"Fitting," James mused, "She _is_ a hot-head."

Lily smiled indulgently while Snape disguised a laugh as a cough. When no objections were heard, James sat up straighter.

"Great! When we get back to the dorms I'll update the map."

Dumbledore coughed. "What map is that, exactly?"

James turned bright red and stuttered through his mortification at forgetting Dumbledore's presence. "N-nothing sir… j-just a… um… just a map… um… of Hogwarts. It - um - just allows us to navigate the school faster, and we like to - um - put our nick-names on it."

Dumbledore looked at him doubtfully but continued anyway. "Well, we had a great lesson today, but I _must_ remind you not to start transforming yet. It can be very dangerous to do it without a responsible animagus around," he said, emphasizing the word responsible.

All of the teens nodded, unsure of what to say.

"Excellent," Dumbledore said. "Dismissed. Sleep well, and come back tomorrow, around the same time."

As they left the office, Harry pushed ahead, just wanting to get to sleep. He didn't want to think about Hermione after the outburst she had.

He knew what he had said was insensitive, and could see why Hermione reacted the way she did. But he just wished that she had trusted him enough to know that he didn't mean it mockingly.

It seemed that she didn't trust him. He could hear her trying to catch up, but only lengthened his stride in response.

"Gryffindor Quidditch!" he gasped, speedily moving into the common room as the portrait swung open.

He dashed up the stairs to his dorm and pulled the curtains around his bed closed, breathing heavily.

Back down in the common room, tears rolled down Hermione's cheeks as she sadly made her way up to her dorm. She sat down heavily on her bed and wondered why Harry wouldn't speak to her.

She knew the answer, though. She had yelled at him for basically nothing, just because she didn't have the last word.

* * *

As the last set of curtains were pulled closed, Hermione crept out of her bed and down the stairs.

She quietly crossed the common room and snuck up the boys' stairs.

Reaching the dorms, she looked for the one with the name _H. Potter_ along with the other Marauders under it. Finding the right room, she gently opened the door and stepped inside. Making sure to be silent, she closed the door and tiptoed over to Harry's bed.

She pulled the curtains back and climbed in. Shutting them behind her, she cast a silencing ward around the bed. She laid down next to him and lightly poked his shoulder.

That seemed to rouse him from his sleep.

" _Hermione?_ " he breathed. "What are you doing here? This is my bed."

He turned over to face her and looked into her eyes. "I'm sorry, Harry!" she blurted. Harry took one look at her posture and knew her apology wasn't related to her sneaking in.

"I thought you were mad," he said flatly.

This made Hermione even more guilty. She seemed to deflate before him. "I'm really sorry. I shouldn't have said those things. I didn't really mean them. By that point, I had realized that you didn't mean what you said mockingly, but I just _had_ to be an idiot and insist to myself that I get the last word. I know that I ruined your afternoon, and I'm sorry."

Harry sighed. "That's good," he said. When she looked at him incredulously, he expounded. "I thought you didn't trust me enough to realize that I would never mock you."

Hermione felt even more guilty, if possible. "Oh, Harry," she sighed. "I'll always trust you. Especially here. I know that we're quickly making friends with the Marauders, but I know you the best and really trust you the most out of everyone here. You're really the only one I trust here. I'm sorry that I was so irrational today."

"Not Sirius?" he asked.

"What?"

"You don't trust Sirius?" he clarified.

"I know he's innocent, but I don't really know him all that well. He seems nice and definitely loves you, but I can't really trust him as much yet. Trust comes with time, or being saved from a mountain troll."

Harry chuckled at the reference to his and Ron's rescue of her in their first year in Hogwarts, and Hermione decided to give in and hug him.

At first, he stiffened, but he eventually relaxed and returned the hug with the same intensity as his best friend.

"I'm sorry too," Harry mumbled into her hair.

She leaned back slightly so she could see his eyes. "Why?"

"I shouldn't have run away. I should have let you speak. You know, I was going to avoid you tomorrow. I now realize how stupid that would've been. Imagine not talking to each other over a misunderstanding that could be cleared up with a short conversation. Either way, I've known you long enough that I should've realized that you were either feeling strange, or there was an explanation. So, I'm sorry too."

Her eyes sparkled with unshed tears. "You're amazing, Harry Potter. Even when I'm very clearly at fault, you apologize too. It's very thoughtful of you to apologize, Harry, but one wasn't needed. You hold little to no blame for any of this."

He adopted a stubborn expression, but Hermione beat him to it. " _No_ , Harry. I know what you're going to say. It's _my_ fault, _not_ yours. Please agree."

Harry nodded hesitantly and she buried her head back in his chest.

"This is nice," she mumbled sleepily.

Then, Harry noticed that she was on top of the covers.

He poked her. "Hermione. Scoot."

She scowled at him but moved so he could hold open the covers. She slid under and resumed her previous position, only without the barrier of the bedsheets.

"Your feet are cold," Harry teased.

She turned her head to the side slightly so she wouldn't lick him and blew a raspberry at him.

He laughed and gripped her tighter.

"You know," he whispered, "this is almost like having a family. Here, with the Marauders and Sirius and Dumbledore. I might not know all of them really well yet, but it almost feels like a family. All the banter, pranking, and everything else just feels _right_." He shivered. "I don't want to lose this. I know we'll eventually go home and it'll be nice to see everyone, but will it be worth it?"

"I think... I think that no matter what we choose, we'll be happy in the end, right? That's all I've ever wanted for you," she said softly, looking up at him.

Harry smiled, before kissing her forehead, knowing it would be a really obvious pointer towards what he felt. Before he could respond, he felt her breathing even out as she fell asleep. Not having the heart to disturb her, he relaxed into her embrace and slept as well, not caring about the consequences.


	5. Chapter 4: Degrees of Control

**Previously:**

_"You know," he whispered, "this is almost like having a family. Here, with the Marauders and Sirius and Dumbledore. I might not know all of them really well yet, but it almost feels like a family. All the banter, pranking, and everything else just feels right." He shivered. "I don't want to lose this. I know we'll eventually go home and it'll be nice to see everyone, but will it be worth it?"_

_"I think... I think that no matter what we choose, we'll be happy in the end, right? That's all I've ever wanted for you," she said softly, looking up at him._

_Harry smiled, before kissing her forehead, knowing it would be a really obvious pointer towards what he felt. Before he could respond, he felt her breathing even out as she fell asleep. Not having the heart to disturb her, he relaxed into her embrace and slept as well, not caring about the consequences._

* * *

**Chapter 4:** Degrees of Control

Harry awoke with a faceful of bushy hair.

 _What the hell?_ he thought. He tried to move his hands to push away the hair but found them trapped under something. Getting frustrated, he pulled his hands away from whatever was holding them.

Suddenly, he heard something grumble in protest. Pushing the hair away, he blinked repeatedly to clear away the spots in his eyes that had been caused by the sudden influx of light.

 _Oh,_ he thought, _Hermione._ The events of the previous night came back to him quickly.

He looked down at her and realized that Hermione looked quite nice when asleep. However, he decided that that was dangerous to think about when she was literally lying on top of him, so he forcefully shoved the thoughts away.

That was when he noticed the source of the light - his curtains were open. But that meant that… _Crap!_ Someone had seen them! Damn, there was going to be a lot of teasing at breakfast.

He put his arms around her again and slightly shook her.

"Mmhm... Go 'way," she swatted at his arm sleepily.

He shook her a little more forcefully.

"Wait… 'Arry?" she mumbled, accidentally mimicking Hagrid's pronunciation of Harry's name thanks to her grogginess, "What are you doing in my bed?"

"Your bed?" Harry asked, "This is my bed, and I'm pretty sure we accidentally fell asleep last night while we were talking."

Hermione blushed. "Yeah… that makes sense. You're a pretty good pillow, Mr. Potter," she mumbled absently, blushing when she realized what she had said.

Harry chuckled. "And you're a pretty good blanket. I think we should get up, though."

When Hermione showed no signs of moving, Harry had assumed that she had fallen asleep again. He tried again. "Someone's already seen us like this. My curtains were open when I woke up."

Hermione's eyes shot open and she hopped out of bed like it was on fire.

" _Oh no,_ " she breathed. "They'll all think that we're dating now!"

Harry laughed. "Shouldn't have snuck into my bed then," he teased. Hermione scowled at him.

"I'm going back to my dorm," she said before hesitating for a moment, before eventually making a decision and kissing him on the cheek. She left him with his mouth hanging open and a blush coloring his cheeks.

 _Did she just…?_ he thought. _Not the time to think about that_.

Shaking his head, he began to get dressed.

A few minutes later, Harry made his way to the common room, only to see Hermione waiting for him at the bottom of the stairs. He offered her his arm and she gladly took it.

"Hermione," Harry asked hesitantly, "why did you go to my bed last night? I mean, it's not that it wasn't comfortable, but you could've waited for the morning. I'm just wondering why."

Hermione sighed. "I really couldn't sleep. I felt really terrible about the things I said yesterday. I shouldn't have snapped at you. I know this will sound a little cheesy, Harry, but you're my best friend. You know me better than anyone else. I don't like being on the outs with you. An added benefit was that you're a really nice pillow."

Harry soaked up the explanation, only blushing slightly at the end. He squeezed the hand that had slipped into his surreptitiously. "Ready to go face our maniac friends?" he asked, only half-joking.

Hermione chuckled. "With you? Sure. Just don't blush _too_ hard. They'll think that _something_ happened that didn't," she said, smirking.

Harry flashed her a grin and started dragging her out to the Great Hall, pulling her in such a way that she had to stumble and catch her balance before she could match his pace.

As they entered the hall, Hermione giggling hysterically at something he had whispered while walking and Harry smirking, all conversation quieted.

Sirius stood from his seat next to Remus at the Gryffindor table and started to clap. "Woohoo! Great job, Harry! You got the girl!"

 _This_ stopped Harry in his tracks, and Hermione, still out of it, ran right into Harry, making him stumble. There was a collective intake of air in the hall as they waited for the couple's response.

Harry and Hermione, who was now attentive again, looked completely flabbergasted.

Sirius chuckled. " _Come on_ , are you seriously telling me that _**nothing**_ happened last night?" he implored.

Hermione blushed fiercely and Harry was lost for words. _What was Sirius thinking? Right in the middle of the Great Hall?_

Hermione seemed to recover faster. " _SIRIUS ORION BLACK!_ " she exclaimed. " _WE DID NOT SLEEP TOGETHER! HOW DARE YOU INSINUATE THAT HARRY AND I WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THAT!_ " At this point, it looked as if Sirius was shaking in his boots.

"Hermione, maybe this isn't the best thing to be yelling in public…" Harry protested weakly, interrupting her diatribe.

A glare from her cut him off quickly. She huffed indignantly and plopped down at the table next to James.

Harry regarded Sirius with eyes narrowed, examining his smug smile. "She was right, Sirius. Nothing happened. We're just friends, but now the whole hall's gonna think otherwise." He pinched the bridge of his nose. "I _really_ don't like rumors and stuff like that. In the future, could you please keep this part of our lives out of the center of attention?" he asked, a hint of annoyance seeping into his voice.

Sirius looked slightly repentant, though amusement was still prevalent in his features. " _Sure,_ Harry. _Nothing_ happened. Come on, mate. Sit down and grab some breakfast." He sat back down in his seat.

Harry was getting irritated. He sat down next to Sirius and Hermione, flashed Hermione a small smile, which she returned, and turned back to Sirius. "No, I'm being serious. Please don't do that again. Now, I'm sure that the whole school thinks that we slept together _non-platonically_. Just think about what that would do to her reputation. Please be more considerate in the future."

Sirius looked dubious. "Are you _really_ telling me that you two aren't together? I mean, I'm not accusing you guys of fucking or anything, that was more of a joke, but you seem so… uhm… _coupley_ , I guess." Sirius frowned. Lowering his voice so only Harry could hear, he continued, "Maybe I shouldn't have announced your temporary sleeping arrangements to the hall, I will agree that that was dumb, but _are you sure_ that she doesn't like you back?"

Harry sputtered, his anger muffled by his shock. "Like me _back_? What?"

Sirius grinned at him and stuffed a piece of bacon into his mouth. " _Oh, Harry,_ " Sirius cried dramatically, albeit quietly, "You've got it bad, and you don't even know!"

Harry glowered at him. " _Of course I know, you idiotic git,_ but why are you proclaiming this _two seats down from her?_ " he whispered fiercely.

This brought Sirius up short. "Uh… Oops?"

"What are you whispering about?" Hermione asked curiously, despite hearing the entire thing. Sirius winced as Harry glared at him. "Now Sirius, there won't be any more of that _silliness_ that we all witnessed, will there?" she asked brightly, her voice slightly cracking when she said 'silliness.' Sirius looked sufficiently cowed.

"Sorry?" he tried. Hermione reached across Harry and patted Sirius on the arm comfortingly.

"Just don't do it again."

Harry sniggered and Hermione smacked him on the arm absently. Sirius raised an eyebrow at Harry. Harry shrugged and stuffed a piece of toast into his mouth.

Hermione grimaced. "Harry… you're eating like Ron."

Harry winced while swallowing. "Ouch, Hermione. That's harsh."

"But true," Hermione interjected.

Sirius chuckled.

"Not true!" Harry cried indignantly. "Ron has the _worst_ table manners. Worse than Dudley." Hermione raised an eyebrow. "I mean, he's a great friend and all, but I _really_ can't watch him eat. Are you seriously comparing me to _that_?"

Sirius frowned. "Mate, I'm sure she was just joking. No need to get all worked up over it."

"Joking. _Joking_. You think she was _JOKING?_ You just don't joke about that. That's the mother of all insults to one's manners!" Harry nearly shrieked.

Sirius looked flabbergasted. Harry caught Hermione's gaze and they stared at each other impassively for a few seconds before breaking down into laughter.

Sirius scowled. "Oh, I get it. You guys were having me on."

This just made the hysterical couple laugh harder. All around them, people looked at them with eyebrows raised.

Their laughing even somehow managed to tear James away from his conversation with Peter regarding Quidditch. "You guys okay? Need the hospital wing? Don't want anyone to die from a busted gut!" James exclaimed, reaching around Hermione and slapping Harry on the back with a fair amount of force.

"Ugh, James, that joke was crap," Snape stated blandly.

"Oww…" Harry moaned, his laughter abated.

Sirius laughed. "James, you can be funny sometimes, but really, I agree with Batman. That was really bad."

Snape scowled at the nickname. "Shut it, Paddy-daddy. You know I hate that name."

Harry and Hermione roared with laughter while Sirius' cheeks pinked and he began to stammer.

Lily smiled sweetly at him. "Aww, Batman's getting all riled up!" she teased.

Snape slumped slightly as he adopted a strained smile. "Sure," he agreed weakly, knowing that he couldn't argue against her.

This caused everyone to break down laughing again.

* * *

"Do you feel it?" Dumbledore asked as a thick red beam of pure stun energy erupted from the tip of Harry's wand.

"Wow," Harry breathed, "That was incredible!"

Hermione shivered. She could feel it too.

"Try it again," Dumbledore suggested, "but this time, try to narrow the flow of magic through your wand. It should be less powerful."

" _Stupefy!_ " Harry incanted.

A slightly narrower beam of magic shot forward and impacted with the training dummy, sending it flying backward into the wall with a bang.

"That's hard!" Harry exclaimed breathlessly.

"Yes. It does take a lot of concentration. We're lucky that you two are the exception, not the norm, as controlling your magic in such a way is a rather difficult thing to teach. Most magicals don't have to learn this, as their power level makes it unnecessary. There is nothing to fear, as they are incapable of casting with that much power."

The Room of Requirement was configured in a way similar to how the DA had used it. The practice dummy that had been blasted into the wall repaired itself and slid back into line with the other two dummies.

Harry looked pensive. "Who do you think taught Voldemort? I mean, he's got to be pretty powerful, yeah? I doubt he could've learned control like this alone."

Hermione frowned, considering the question herself as Dumbledore sighed. "I am afraid that it is quite likely that my counterpart was the one to teach him. You see, the general practice is that when a student is discovered to have tremendous magical power like the two of you, the so-called "Leader of the Light" is usually tasked with teaching the prodigy control, and also keeping them from straying to the Dark Arts. It is highly probable that your Dumbledore neglected the latter. It is unlikely that he did it purposefully, however. He would've wanted Tom as a successor, not a Dark Lord." Harry and Hermione nodded, resigned. "Furthermore, I taught _this_ Tom Riddle to control his power. I was making the same mistake as my counterpart until I realized what was happening, and saw the tell-tale signs of his impending fall. I then gave him the lecture on what would happen to the mental state of a Dark Arts user."

Hermione looked perplexed. "Didn't you say that it was likely that our Headmaster _wasn't_ the cause of Riddle's fall? You pointed out that if it had been, he would've redeemed himself."

Dumbledore looked startled. "Ah. Forgive me. Let me elaborate. Now, all of this is theory as I'm not actually from your world. This is all guesswork." The couple nodded. "Grindelwald was rising during Tom's school years. I began to notice that Tom was exhibiting a few of Gellert's mannerisms. I looked into it and discovered that he was _also_ training under Gellert. Luckily, I was able to pull him away from my old friend's influence, but your Dumbledore was likely unable to, or simply never discovered it himself. So technically, it wasn't _totally_ his fault, and that was probably what he latched onto to justify his actions and reassure himself that the "Greater Good" was the right path. However, knowing what I was like back then, I think that it is highly likely that it was his influence that caused Tom to seek out Gellert for additional training. That's very likely because back then I, and by extension, my counterpart, preached second, third, and even fourth chances and only learning light spells, and ignoring the dark completely. I think that he thought that he was neglecting a whole portion of magic. As a child muggle-raised in an orphanage, that was unacceptable to him. Admittedly, he was bitter originally, and even opened up the legendary Chamber of Secrets, but was stopped before anyone was killed and quickly repented by saving the life of another student. And-"

Dumbledore's explanation was cut off as Hermione interrupted him. "Wait - no one died when he opened the chamber?"

Dumbledore nodded and Harry and Hermione exchanged a meaningful look.

"Professor, in our world, the attacks stopped when Myrtle Warren was killed by the basilisk," Harry explained.

Dumbledore's brows furrowed as he considered the new development. This blew all of his theories out of the water. "I still think that my counterpart didn't change because of a lack of guilt. Maybe the source of the changed circumstances is less of Tom not turning dark because of him, maybe it was that he was dark in the first place."

Harry accepted this without question. The Severus Snape here was a perfect example of someone being fundamentally different. Hermione, however, was not so easily convinced. "Are you sure? He did still open the chamber."

Dumbledore looked slightly exasperated. "Just remember, I don't have all the answers. These are all theories. I really wouldn't know, as I've never even stepped foot inside your world. Everything I know about it comes from you two and Professor Black."

"How much has Sirius told you, by the way?" Harry asked curiously.

"That is neither here nor there, Harry. Now, we've gotten very far off track. You were here to learn how to control your power. Let's get back to it. Hermione, let's see you try. Throw a stunner. Don't try to limit it. You need to get a feel for your power."

Hermione stepped up and adopted a dueling stance and stuck her wand arm forward. Slashing her wand in a movement resembling an acute angle, she incanted: " _Stupefy!_ "

The result was similar to Harry's second try. A beam of red magic, not quite as wide as Harry's, shot forward and knocked her dummy into the wall with violent force.

"Good!" Dumbledore praised. "Do you feel the magic flowing from your core through your wand and out?" When Hermione made a vague motion resembling an affirmation, still too shocked at her own power to form a coherent response, Dumbledore continued. "Try again, only try to construct the passageways slightly. Try to press on them."

Repeating the motion with a call of " _Stupefy!_ ", a significantly more narrow beam shot out and instead of making the dummy fly through the air, it only stumbled backward a few yards before collapsing.

Dumbledore clapped his hands together looking positively gleeful. "Fantastic! Absolutely marvelous! Such control so early in!" Hermione glowed with pride and Harry high-fived her enthusiastically.

"Harry!" Dumbledore called, "Try again! Let's see if you can do as well as the lovely Miss Granger!" Hermione blushed as Harry stepped up.

He gathered his magic in his wand but didn't release it instantly. Instead, he focused on pulling some of it back. He was slightly successful because where the tip of his wand was previously glowing a brilliantly bright red, it had dimmed significantly.

" _Stupefy!_ " he yelled, waving his wand. A large red orb shot out of his wand and hit the dummy. It only staggered back a single foot before crumpling to the ground. Breathing hard from the mental exertion, he turned back to face his best friend and his mentor. Both looked completely gobsmacked.

Hermione recovered first and glomped him, radiating pride. Harry was unable to keep his balance, so they both fell to the floor with a harmonious ' _oomph'_.

"That was _**incredible**_ , Harry!" she gushed. "Wow! Down to an orb and on your third try!"

Harry grinned up at her bemusedly. "I'm sure you'll do it just as easily next, Hermione. You're not called the brightest witch of the generation for nothing, after all." She beamed at him, and they continued hugging until a cough could be heard from above, reminding them that they weren't alone.

Hermione's face flushed bright red as she scrambled off Harry and stood quickly. Getting to his feet, Harry's face was just as red as Hermione's. Looking at Dumbledore, they noticed that his eyes were twinkling even more than normal.

Harry shifted awkwardly as Dumbledore cleared his throat. "That was absolutely incredible control, Harry. That type of control this fast is practically unheard of," Dumbledore praised. "Try again, Hermione. See if you can copy Harry's progress."

Hermione stepped forward again with a determined expression. " _Stupefy!_ " A very thin beam of red energy shot out and knocked the dummy a few feet back before it collapsed again.

"Great progress!" Dumbledore exclaimed. "Let's try something else." He conjured two large wooden cubes. "Try the levitation charm."

Since she was already in position, Hermione went first. With a swish and a sharp flick, Hermione called out the incantation. " _Wingardium leviosa!_ " The cube shot up dangerously fast and splintered as it impacted the ceiling. Hermione stared dumbly at the damage, lost for words.

Dumbledore flicked his wand with a silent _Reparo_ and the cube reformed, looking like it had just been conjured. "Try again, but limit your power. I know that this type of energy feels slightly different, but power control is no different here."

" _Wingardium leviosa!_ " The cube shot up once more, but instead of splintering, it just thunked loudly against the ceiling.

" _Good!_ That isn't perfect but it is progress. You try, Harry."

Harry stepped forward. " _Wingardium leviosa!_ " The result was similar to Hermione's first attempt, the block violently impacting the ceiling and splintering.

With another _Reparo_ , the block was reformed again. " _Wingardium leviosa!_ " It shot up quickly again but stopped abruptly just shy of the ceiling. Hermione's eyes shot to Harry, and she could see him struggling and sweating under the effort of maintaining control over his turbulent magic. His arms shook and his muscles tensed.

Eventually, he released the spell and sunk down to the ground, mentally spent. "Wow," he breathed. "How is that so exhausting? I thought we were more powerful."

"This isn't physical or magical exhaustion, Harry," Dumbledore explained patiently. "This is mental exhaustion. Your mind will strengthen as we practice. If it really bothers you, occlumency strengthens your mind. It isn't required though, as occlumency makes one relive _all_ of their memories."

Harry looked slightly uncomfortable while Hermione looked eager until she saw Harry's expression. "Harry?" she asked softly. "What are you afraid of? You don't have to answer, but maybe it will help to talk?"

Harry sighed heavily. "I'll talk to you about it later, Hermione. Thank you." Hermione gave him a small smile. He looked up at Dumbledore. "I remember you saying something about the Dark Arts and the mental state earlier, could you explain that? I need a break from this training."

Dumbledore nodded, and with a thought, the room reconfigured itself, looking like a copy of the headmaster's office. Dumbledore sat behind his desk and motioned towards the two chairs in front that had appeared. Harry and Hermione sat down quickly.

"The Dark Arts are certainly powerful, but the only use for them is violence and dark rituals. Do realize, however, that just because the ministry declares that something is dark, doesn't mean that it is dark. The Dark Arts are powered by negative emotions. Hate, fear, jealousy, and even simple anger. To power your spells, you need to use your emotions in a way similar to a Patronus, only instead of positives, you need negatives. Another thing is that you need to _mean it_. Just having negative emotions isn't always enough. For example, for the killing curse, _Avada Kedavra_ , you need to really, _really_ want to kill the person. The other thing about the Dark Arts is that it muddles your mind. The inherent darkness of the magic eventually drives the caster insane. For example, my old friend Gellert Grindelwald used to actually be quite sane. However, he began to use the Dark Arts and became increasingly irrational because of it. He was never fit to be a ruler. He didn't even mastermind his own rise. He would never have arisen if it wasn't for his advisors. Sure, he was powerful, but he was mostly a figurehead and a powerhouse. But as the darkness seeps into your mind, it makes it easier to cast darker curses. That is why he was able to throw around dark curses with ease. Normally, one would need to immensely concentrate their negative emotions, but those exposed to the Dark Arts are so concentrated with them already that they can let loose a torrent of dark curses without a care in the world."

Hermione blinked. "That was… surprisingly logical. I'm not sure what I expected but it wasn't that."

Harry nodded in agreement.

"It is surprising," Dumbledore agreed, "but you've had enough of a break. Let's get back to work."

"That wasn't a long break!" Harry protested.

Dumbledore smirked. "Well… I _did_ say that this would be rigorous."

"You did? When?" Hermione asked.

"Repeatedly," Dumbledore returned.

Harry groaned loudly.

 _You sure it wasn't just in your head?_ Harry mused bitterly.

* * *

"So…" James prompted, "where are you two going for the Yule Break?"

Harry glanced at Hermione, non-verbally asking her opinion. She raised an eyebrow, indicating her impartiality. He huffed, expressing his irritation over him having to make the choice. Hermione scoffed, meaning something along the lines of; _Fine. Like_ you _could ever make a logical decision anyway._ Harry chuckled and Hermione made up her mind.

"We could either stay in the leaky cauldron or remain here. I think we'll remain here. Less hassle," she explained quickly.

Silence reigned.

Sirius spoke up. "That's really creepy, y'know." Everyone nodded in agreement.

Harry looked at him, bemused. "What?"

"That whole non-verbal thing. It makes it seem like you're Soul-Bonded or something," he clarified.

Harry disguised a laugh as a cough. "You've got no idea how many people say that. Also, what's a Soul-Bond?"

Hermione scoffed indignantly in response to Sirius' question. " _Soul-Bonded?_ Are you barmy? Those things are only in cheesy romance novels! Hah! Like _Fate_ would play matchmaker. How have you even heard of that term? Digging around Mummy's library?"

James barked out a laugh while Sirius looked shocked.

Harry simply smirked slyly. "Hermione, how have _you_ heard of that term? Were you reading some "cheesy romance novels"? Purely for educational reasons, of course," he remarked, gently elbowing her.

Hermione blushed. "Well… There was one…"

Harry sniggered.

"Oh shut it!" she commanded imperiously, smacking his arm. "It was Ginny's! She practically forced me to read it! And… it was a _book!_ I wasn't going to turn down a _book_." As he continued to laugh, she smirked, having found a great way to get him back. "And don't _you_ act so high-and-mighty, mister. I've seen those "Quidditch Magazines" you and Ron share sometimes."

This shut Harry up rather quickly while Sirius and James dissolved into hysterics.

With a mock-contemptuous air, she sniffed disdainfully and turned towards James, who was using Sirius as support. "Yes. We shall be staying at Hogwarts for Christmas."

While she waited for the rest of the group to recover from their laughter, she turned back to Harry, who was looking decidedly pale and smacked him on the back of the head, bringing slight color back to his face.

"Harry," she said softly. "I was only teasing you. It's perfectly natural. I don't think any less of you."

He nodded jerkily, clearly still embarrassed.

 _Who wouldn't be embarrassed?_ He asked himself. _The girl I fancy somehow knows about those… uhm… things - er - dirty pleasures_.

"Er… Hermione… Mind telling me how you know about those?"

She blushed. "I was… up in your dorm one time. You happened to have left them out."

Harry raised an eyebrow and was about to comment but James interrupted. "Nonsense, Hermione! You two should come to Potter Manor for Christmas! My parents would love to have you."

Harry looked to Hermione once again, looking for her input. Rolling her eyes fondly, she responded in the positive. "Sure, James. We'd love to. We just have to talk to Sirius first."

Sirius perked up at this. "What?"

Hermione looked startled as if seeing him for the first time. "Oh… Whoops. I meant the other Sirius. Our Sirius."

Sirius scratched the back of his neck awkwardly. "Right… forgot about him…" he trailed off.

An awkward silence took hold until James broke it cheerfully. "This is going to be _awesome_. I can't wait to see Mum and Dad's faces when they realize that they have a _grandson!_ Oh, Sirius, I forgot to tell you that Lord Black is staying over for Christmas too!"

Sirius paled.

Hermione, looking concerned, spoke up. "Sirius? What's wrong?"

Sirius collected himself. "Lord Black - erm - Grandfather, is really scary. He'll give me a pretty stern talking to for running away from home."

Harry looked slightly confused. "Our Sirius said he ran from home when he was sixteen. Aren't you fifteen?"

Hermione looked at Harry patronizingly. "There _are_ differences from here and home, you realize."

Harry shrugged sheepishly.

"Anyway," Hermione said, "why is Lord Black staying at your house, James?"

"Uncle Arcturus is _really_ cool. He's also great friends with my dad. They fought in the war against Grindelwald together."

"Really _cool?_ " Sirius asked shrilly. "He's the most intimidating guy I know!"

James was nonplussed. "That's what makes him so cool!"

Pointing at the map, Lily exclaimed, "Look! Professor Black is approaching us!"

Once he entered the group's line of sight, Professor Sirius Black was distracted by a very loud Harry Potter.

"SIRIUS! Can we go to the Potters' for Christmas?"

Older Sirius chuckled. "Sure, pup. As long as Hermione's okay with that too." Hermione nodded happily.

"You should know," started younger Sirius, "Grandfather will be there too."

Older Sirius paled dramatically.


	6. Christmas

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Before you read this chapter: if you are one of the readers who were here before I abandoned this, and have skipped to this chapter to simply see what's new, I will warn you that I have changed a few important details in the last few chapters. If you're reading this story for the first time, feel free to ignore this. Not much has changed, only that I decided that Snily is disturbing and not something I really want in here anymore, so I removed all references that I saw while reading through it, though it's possible that I missed one. I added a few things in here or there but not that much else has changed.

**Previously:**

_Once he entered the group's line of sight, Professor Sirius Black was distracted by a very loud Harry Potter._

" _SIRIUS! Can we go to the Potters' for Christmas?"_

_Older Sirius chuckled. "Sure, pup. As long as Hermione's okay with that too." Hermione nodded happily._

" _You should know," started younger Sirius, "Grandfather will be there too." Older Sirius paled dramatically._

* * *

**Chapter 5:** Christmas

Charlus Potter was tall. Tall and imposing, not to mention strong. There was one thought usually swimming through the general female population of Wizarding Britain when they caught sight of him, and it was that Dorea was lucky to snag him when she did.

An owl swooped into the study through one of the open windows and landed carefully on the desk, avoiding a few piles of parchment. It stuck out the leg that had the letter attached.

Charlus gently took the letter and shooed the owl away. The little owl frantically took flight and sped out the open window.

Charlus shook his head, slightly exasperated, and unfolded the letter. He smiled slightly when he saw that it was from his son.

_Dad,_

_I can't remember if I said anything about this in any of my  
previous letters, but we have some dimensional travelers at  
school! And guess what! One is my son from another world! …_

Charlus's eyes widened in surprise.

… _His name is_ _Harry Potter_ _Harry James Potter, and he came  
with his best friend Hermione Jean Granger and his godfather,  
also known as an older version of Sirius Orion Black! …_

Charlus scrambled out of his seat, dropping the letter. It had been way too long since he had checked the family tapestry. Maybe this "Harry James Potter" would make an appearance there. Either that or this was just another prank from his son. But it wouldn't hurt to check, in his opinion.

Dashing through the hallways, Charlus ignored the indignant squawk of one of the Potter elves as he almost trampled him.

Reaching the tapestry he wasn't even out of breath, despite sprinting the length of the house. He scanned the tapestry, looking for his son's name.

Sure enough, under a connecting line between _James C. Potter_ and _Lily R. Evans_ was _Harry J. Potter_.

 _Evans?_ Charlus thought, scanning his memories for the Evans family. _Hm. Maybe she's a muggle-born. I'll have to ask James_.

He quickly made his way back to his study to finish reading his letter.

… _I almost can't believe it! Anyway, they were planning to stay  
at Hogwarts for Christmas, but I offered that they come home. I  
just told them I'd have to ask you first. I know that Uncle  
Arcturus is already staying, but wouldn't he want to meet a  
dimensional traveler from the Black family too? Oh, and just  
making sure, Sirius (the younger one) can still stay over, right?_

_Love,_

_James_

_Damn,_ Charlus mentally groused. _Clever. Now I have to say yes or it'll seem impolite._ Not that he would've refused in the first place, but now he'd been backed into a corner. He didn't like being backed into a corner. It did please him, however, that his son was learning such a manuever. It would be good for his political future.

He grabbed a spare piece of parchment and wrote a letter. He whistled loudly and one of the family owls quickly flew down from its perch and stuck out its leg.

Tying the letter to it, Charlus spoke, "Take this to Lord Black. This is an urgent matter."

* * *

James took a large bite of chicken, and his cheeks bulged. Unable to close his mouth enough, he chewed carefully but unfortunately exposing some of his lunch to his friends.

Hermione wrinkled her nose. "Ew, James. If you can't close it, at least cover your mouth."

"Wmmwha mmmnam!" he exclaimed, mouth still full.

"Mate, nobody can understand you right now," Harry said patiently.

James huffed, but acquiesced and began to chew a bit faster, closing his mouth.

Everyone grimaced as he made a choking sound when he swallowed without being thorough enough. Sirius slapped him on the back with considerable force, causing his airway to become free again and a few small pieces of food to fly out of his mouth.

"Having fun, James?" came a voice from behind him. All of the noise in the Great Hall quieted immediately. James busily finished what was left in his mouth and turned around.

"Hi, Dad!" he exclaimed brightly. "Why're you here?"

Charlus shook his head in fond exasperation. "That was an interesting letter you sent, James."

A look of realization graced James' features. "Oh, yeah. That's Harry-" he poked Harry.

"Hey!" Harry protested.

"-that's Hermione-" he pointed at Hermione, not brave enough to poke such a dangerous being, "-and Professor Black is the guy sitting at the head table that looks like a Black."

Charlus nodded at each of them politely but then frowned as he looked at Professor Black. "Is it just me, or does he look a bit gaunt?"

Harry nodded. "Yeah, he was framed for murder and ended up spending twelve years in Azkaban without trial. He doesn't look great, but acts fine."

Charlus paled. "T-twelve years?"

"Um… yeah."

"Does he need to see a mind healer?" Charlus suggested. "Wouldn't all that exposure to dementors damage him?"

Hermione looked ever-so-slightly startled. "Why didn't I think of that?" she grumbled. Harry patted her on the arm consolingly.

"It's alright, Hermione. You're still the brightest witch of the age," Harry said before adopting an expression of deep thought. "Or… at least the age back home. Not so sure about here…" he trailed off as she smacked him, chuckling.

Charlus raised an eyebrow, observing the byplay. "Are you two…"

"NO!" they both loudly interrupted, blushing.

Charlus' other eyebrow mirrored the first. "I didn't even ask the question!"

Their blushes deepened. Charlus narrowed his eyes.

"I _was_ going to ask if you were done bantering, but what did you think it was?"

Both stared stubbornly down at their plates, ignoring their surroundings, faces still blazing.

"Is that actually what you were going to ask?" James stage-whispered.

"No, I was teasing them," Charlus said, mimicking his tone.

Hermione sputtered indignantly while Harry simply smiled, accepting that he had been outplayed.

Charlus straightened his posture and was in business mode once more. "Mr. Potter, Miss Granger. I wish to have a conversation with you," he said, overly formal.

"Yes, Lord Potter," they intoned.

James snickered.

* * *

After a long conversation with the elder Potter, which mainly consisted of repeating the story they told James, the group of three walked back into the great hall.

The Marauders were all thrilled to hear that Charlus had consented for Harry and Hermione to come to Potter Manor for Christmas.

And so, Harry and Hermione found themselves awkwardly standing on platform nine and three-quarters next to James, who was practically vibrating with anticipation.

"Will you stop that!" Hermione hissed.

James stopped fidgeting. "What?"

"You were literally shaking, mate," Harry offered helpfully.

"Oh," James said, intelligently. He shrugged it off and looked around. "Hey, where's Sirius?"

"Here!" called Sirius, dragging his trunk off the train. "Where's your dad, James?" he asked, waving goodbye to Remus.

"Forgot already?" James teased.

"What?"

"Honestly, Sirius," Hermione chided. "Didn't you go home with him last year?"

Sirius blushed.

"And, James told us an hour ago," she said.

Sirius was rather red. "Sorry… where are they then?"

"On the muggle side of the barrier," James explained patiently. "They like to expose me to that part of the world. We are, after all, only a rather small part of the population."

Sirius's face lit up. "Oh! I remember now!" he winked. "Can't miss out on the muggle fashion?" he waggled his eyebrows.

Harry facepalmed while Hermione pinched the brow of her nose.

James laughed hysterically.

"What did he do this time?" asked a sweet voice.

Harry looked momentarily confused. "Who are you again?"

"Harry!" Hermione said sharply. Harry glanced at her, bemused. "That was rude!"

"Oh."

The owner of the voice was a medium-height brunette with blue eyes, who had a rather mischievous look on her face.

"Jess?" Sirius blurted. "What are you doing here?"

 _Jess? Jessica Cambridge?_ Harry thought. _Doesn't Sirius have a crush on her?_

It seemed all of Harry's questions were about to be answered, as Jessica grabbed the front of Sirius's shirt and kissed him, rather passionately, in Harry's opinion.

A few catcalls and enthusiastic whistles came from various students around them.

Hermione's eyebrows shot straight to his forehead and James gaped.

Jessica pulled away, breathing heavily. "See you next year, you lovely man," she whispered huskily, while Harry cringed at the endearment.

Sirius smiled goofily as she smacked his bum and sauntered away.

James was the first to recover his speech. "What the hell was _that?_ "

"My girlfriend," Sirius said, still looking dazed.

"Girlfriend?!" James asked, rather rudely in Harry's opinion.

"What, jealous?" Hermione interjected smoothly, defusing the imminent argument.

James looked stunned for a second before looking indignant. "No!" he protested vehemently.

Harry laughed.

"Denial isn't just a river in Egypt," Hermione said, smirking.

"You're one to talk!" James retorted.

Hermione clammed up immediately.

"See?" he said, raising his eyebrows.

Harry looked back and forth between James and Hermione, completely baffled.

Hermione straightened her posture and tugged on Harry's arm. "Your parents are waiting for us," she said to James before turning to face Harry. "Where's Sirius meeting us again? Sorry, I forgot."

"He said he'd apparate to outside the platform," Harry said.

Sirius looked confused. "Me? I can't apparate!"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "This is going to be a confusing holiday," she muttered. Her voice returned to its normal volume. "No, the other one."

Sirius laughed.

Hermione raised an eyebrow. "You thought I was joking?"

Sirius stopped laughing and looked confused again. "Am I forgetting something again?"

"Yes!" James groaned.

"Older you," Harry prompted.

Sirius groaned, dropping his head into his hands. "I'm an _idiot_."

"Anyway," Hermione said loudly.

James looked chagrined. "Ah, yes. Let's go."

With that, he picked up his trunk and marched towards the barrier, Sirius following purposefully.

Harry and Hermione exchanged an exasperated glance and followed at a slightly more sedate pace.

When James and Sirius disappeared through the barrier, Hermione grabbed Harry's hand and sped up a bit, pulling him after her.

They entered the muggle part of King's Cross to see Sirius looking extremely nervous and glancing warily at a tall, black-haired man that had grey eyes. His posture spoke of authority and, of course, a hint of arrogance. All in all, he was rather intimidating.

That was in stark contrast to the warm sight of James embracing his parents.

Suddenly, there was a _pop!_ As a shaggy black dog appeared on the ground right in front of Harry. Hermione jumped slightly and ended up in a position that vaguely resembled a hug with Harry. A few passing muggles looked around, attempting to find the source of the noise.

"Padfoot!" Hermione hissed.

The dog pounced and tackled Harry, bringing Hermione down with them.

As Padfoot licked their faces, Harry protested, "Hey! That's gross!"

With what could be interpreted as a snort, Padfoot climbed off of the now disheveled couple and trotted over to James, who was trying very hard not to laugh.

Harry and Hermione separated, though it seemed a bit reluctant, and dusted themselves off and smoothed down their clothes before quickly getting to their feet.

Harry looked almost as good as new, but Hermione's hair was now significantly bushier than it was just a few minutes earlier.

When Harry politely pointed this out, Hermione scowled and muttered, "I'm going to neuter him when we get to the Manor."

Padfoot whimpered while the rest of the group chuckled.

James stepped forward. "Guys, this is my mum, Dorea Potter!" he announced pompously, "Mum, this is Harry and Hermione."

Harry and Hermione both shook hands with Dorea, who smiled amiably at them.

James was about to speak again but was stopped abruptly when Charlus put his hand on his shoulder. He pulled James back slightly and gestured to the grey-eyed man. "This is Arcturus Black, the current Lord Black. He is a very close friend of mine. And Arcturus, as I believe you've already heard, this is Harry and Hermione."

Arcturus gave them an appraising glance. "Scrawny," he muttered under his breath, "We'll need to start a workout routine." He stuck out his hand. "Pleased to meet you."

He shook Harry's hand politely and then took Hermione's and brought it up to his mouth and kissed it. Hermione blushed and Harry frowned.

Hermione pulled her hand back and took Harry's. Harry looked rather pleased with this development.

Seeing this, Charlus chuckled quietly and gestured for everyone to follow him.

As they began walking away, Harry looked at Hermione inquisitively. "I didn't know that an animagus could apparate when transformed."

Hermione nodded. "I didn't know that either. We should ask Sirius when we get to the Manor. We could use that information once we transform."

A few minutes later, Charlus directed the party into a somewhat narrow alleyway.

Arcturus turned to Padfoot. "Transform, Sirius, and look into my mind."

Harry turned to the newly-transformed Sirius, surprised. _I didn't know he was a Legilimens!_

Sirius quickly got the location of the Manor apparation point and walked over to Harry and Hermione. He grasped their forearms and disappeared with a _pop!_

Charlus took James, Arcturus took the younger Sirius, and Dorea went alone.

* * *

The large group appeared in a large entry hall with more than one _pop!_

Harry looked around, wide-eyed, as he saw the ornate room. The blue walls complimented the hardwood floor rather well, he thought.

Arcturus walked away, presumably to his study, and young Sirius scampered off, dragging his trunk behind him, presumably to his room. Dorea marched off, entering a room that resembled a kitchen, from what Harry could see, at least.

Charlus smiled. "Sirius, I'll show you to your room, James can show Harry and Hermione… right?"

James nodded enthusiastically.

"Tippy!" Charlus called. With another sharp _pop_ , a small creature appeared in the room.

 _House-elf_ , Harry realized.

Charlus continued. "Please, could you take their trunks to their rooms?"

Tippy bowed. "Tippy shall do as master commands." He left with _pop_ , trunks in tow.

Satisfied with his orders, Charlus left the three teens alone to a slightly awkward silence.

James cleared his throat. "Right… this way."

After leading them down a long corridor and up two flights of stairs, James reached a door. Pushing it open, he slipped inside and held it open for the two guests. "Umm… this is your room, Hermione. Your trunk is there, on the bed, and you've got a bathroom through that doorway there."

Hermione nodded in satisfaction, happy with her accommodations. "Thanks, James. It looks nice."

James smiled brightly. He looked at Harry. "Alright, Harry. We've shown Hermione hers, so all that's left is to show you yours."

Harry nodded. That sounded reasonable.

Harry's room wasn't all that far away from Hermione's. In fact, it was only two doors down.

James opened the door and allowed Harry and Hermione to walk in first. "Here's your room, Harry. I'm sure you've noticed that it's more or less the same as Hermione's and that's because all of our guest rooms have the same layout."

The two nodded.

James fidgeted in the silence that followed. "Okay… I'll leave you two to unpack as much as you'd like." He hastily exited the room, glancing at Hermione nervously.

* * *

Harry reluctantly opened his eyes and winced when his senses were bombarded with light.

As he gradually awoke, his senses gradually made themselves known, specifically his hearing.

"-ake up, wake up, wake up. Wake up, Harry!"

As that noise slowly filtered its way through his brain, he slowly realized that he was being shaken.

"Ugh," he groaned. "Why am I so stiff."

"Because," came a prim voice, "you slept on the floor, you idiot."

He choked out a laugh. "How did that happen?"

He wasn't sure, but he might have heard something around " _How, exactly, do I fancy that boy?"_ but he couldn't be sure. His ears were most likely malfunctioning again.

He opened his eyes once more, blinking rapidly to clear away the last vestiges of sleep.

"Hermione?" he asked nervously. "What are you doing in my room?"

"You don't remember?" came the surprised reply.

He shook his head. "I'm sure it'll come back to me quickly enough."

"Okay," she said, sounding fairly bemused. "Anyway, I'm going to head back over to my room and get changed. We're still in Hogwarts robes."

He looked down. "Ah."

She laughed quietly before leaving, and he _felt_ the depth of her absence.

_Damn, I'm a goner._

Just as he was putting his arms into the sleeves of his shirt, the memories came flooding back. Harry had had a rather enthusiastic debate with Hermione over the Potters and their elves. It was strange, though, because usually their arguments that they'd had before, however few, had been fairly heated, but this had almost seemed… playful? Harry couldn't quite put a label on it, but by the time they'd exhausted their arguments, they had apparently exhausted themselves too, because the last thing Harry could remember was him lying on the ground with Hermione lying partially on top of him.

He remembered being far too comfortable and far too tired to attempt to move her away. As he thought about it now, she hadn't protested much either… but maybe that was just because she was similarly exhausted. He had no way of knowing whether it was due to exhaustion or whether she fancied him, and he certainly wasn't going to ask. That could make things really awkward, and he _could not_ afford that, especially with their current situation.

Sighing, he dismissed the train of thought, deciding that continuing down that path would only do him harm. He slipped into his shoes and stepped out into the hallway… and stopped. He had no clue where he was. It was unfortunate that he hadn't been paying much attention to where they were going when they were showed their rooms.

Then his thoughts ground to a halt.

"I'm an idiot."

He took out his wand and put it on the palm of his right hand. "Point me, Hermione Granger."

The wand spun around for a few moments before focusing on one direction. Nodding to himself, he stowed the wand and walked where it had told him to.

A few moments later, he was walking near a door two doors down from his when it opened, showing Hermione.

"Oh," he said. "There you are."

She gave him an odd look. "Why are you over here? The dining room is that way."

She pointed in the direction he had come from.

"Sorry," Harry said sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck nervously. "I had forgotten exactly where to go so I reckoned I'd find you. You were more likely to pay attention to where we were walking."

Shooting him an amused look, she huffed exasperatedly, and there was a faint blush on her cheeks, though Harry couldn't be sure if he'd imagined it. "Alright then, Harry. Follow me, I'll show you the way, and you best remember it this time, mister!"

Harry laughed. "Yes madam," he shot back as they walked, making the blush more visible. This time he was sure he hadn't imagined it.

When they entered the dining room, they noticed that everyone was already seated and enjoying a pleasant breakfast.

The younger Sirius noticed them first. "Ah, how marvelous of you to join us, Harry, Hermione! May I surmise that you had a _good night's sleep?_ " he asked, a smirk plastered on his face.

Both newcomers turned beet red as the occupants of the room turned to regard them, but Hermione managed to throw out a retort. "I didn't know your vocabulary extended that far, Sirius. Marvelous? Such a big word! I'm so _proud_."

Charlus barked out a laugh while Sirius pinked. "I _like_ this one!" he praised, prompting Dorea to nod along amusedly. "Anyways, sit down, children. There is much food to be had, and our elves always make the best."

This was clearly the wrong thing to say because Hermione's expression soured rapidly, and Charlus peered at her, clearly wondering what he'd said wrong.

"Hermione, please," Harry whispered. "We can talk about this _later_ , okay?"

" _Fine_ , Harry," she bit out, causing the majority of the table to look at her in surprise.

Harry was unperturbed. " _Hermione_ ," he scolded, and she had the grace to look abashed as her righteous fury washed away.

"Sorry," she apologized meekly as she daintily sat, eyes set firmly on her plate.

Arcturus eyed her appraisingly as he wiped his mouth with his napkin. "They'll die without their bond, you know," he pointed out reasonably.

Her gaze shot up to meet his and Harry looked at him, surprised.

"Am I that transparent?" she asked.

"No. I just happen to be very good at reading people," Arcturus replied. "What you're doing shows that you have your heart in the right place, but you're going about it the wrong way. As they often say, ' _the road to hell is often paved with the best of intentions_.'"

She opened her mouth to protest, but he cut her off with a look, causing Harry to shoot him an impressed look.

"You need to also remember that this is not your world. I know not how elves are treated there…"

There were sounds of realization echoing around the table.

"…but we are in a time of peace here. We have laws to prevent mistreatment of them. It would likely be better if you waited until after you got home to follow this particular path. And before you do that, talk to an elf there. _Really_ talk to them. Ask them about their bond, and why they have it, and how it makes them feel."

She deflated further and looked rather embarrassed. "I'm sorry for my outburst," she apologized, looking everyone in the eye. "I mean no disrespect to you, Lord Potter, but in my dimension, elves are usually treated horribly - every example I have has shown them being treated like less than dirt. Well… apart from Hogwarts that is, and I think that that's because they don't have a master there. They work for the castle. I hadn't considered things might be different here, and I'm sorry. Please forgive me."

Charlus smiled at her. "Of course. It was simply a misunderstanding. Please, enjoy some breakfast."

The table was silent until an owl flew in the window, depositing the day's paper by Charlus. He quickly paid the owl and opened it up.

A grim look settled on his features, and Dorea frowned, sensing her husband's change in mood.

"What is it, dear?" she asked softly.

Wordlessly, he passed her the paper, and she gasped.

"What is it, Mum?" James asked quickly.

"Wait your turn, Jamie," she scolded reflexively as if she'd said it many times before.

James scowled. "Fine," he huffed quietly, earning a stern look from his father.

A minute or so later, James was passed the paper, who paled. The newspaper passed around the table, eliciting similar expressions except for the three Blacks who looked stricken.

Eventually, the newspaper reached Harry and Hermione, who shared the paper.

_**The Herald - Daily Edition** _

_**BLACK ANCESTRAL HOME ATTACKED** _

_By: Fabian Prewett_

_Early this morning, the Black Manor on Grimmauld Place was  
attacked by unknown forces. Five members of the family were  
found dead inside, including Orion Black, Walburga Black,  
Bellatrix Black, and Regulus Black._

_The strange part, though, was that the wards showed no signs  
of damage, and the Blacks were killed with muggle weaponry.  
They were each found with a bullet in the center of their forehead._

_The Auror department provided a statement…_

Harry and Hermione looked up, stricken. "Sirius…" Harry started before the boy in question abruptly stood, pushing his chair back, and left the room muttering something sounding like _"Oh, Reggie."_

The older Sirus had his head cradled in his hands. "No matter how crappy of a family they were," he said, "they never deserved this."

Harry nodded in agreement, mentally comparing the Blacks to the Dursleys.

Arcturus mirrored Harry's movement but was more vocal about his thoughts. "They were true bastards of the highest order, but Sirius is right. They didn't deserve this, especially young Regulus Black. He was innocent, mainly thanks to the efforts of the young Sirius. Orion wasn't _too_ bad, though…"

"The bloke was simply too whipped by his wife," Charlus observed, earning himself a smack.

"Yeah," James agreed. "Even though Reg was a Slytherin, he was still really nice. He even joined us for a prank every once-and-awhile."

Hermione looked at James strangely. "He didn't while we were there."

James looked confused for a moment before nodded. "Oh, yeah. He didn't do it this year, but before, he occasionally joined."

Harry nodded solemnly. "I'm not entirely sure I can eat. My friend's family just died, and their last victim was my appetite," he said as he stood, pushing the plate away.

Hermione frowned for a moment before similarly pushing away her food. "Me too."

Harry backed away from the table and stretched out an arm to her, which she took. "Shall we, Granger?"

She shuddered. "Don't call me that, please, Harry. You almost sounded like Malfoy there for a second."

Harry grimaced. "Fine, fine. Just don't compare me to that ponce."

They walked out of the room together, small smiles adorning their faces.

When they left, Charlus turned to Arcturus. "I'll bet you five galleons that those two are together by Christmas," he said, trying to lighten the mood.

Arcturus raised an eyebrow. "You want to play, Potter? Well, I'll call your bet. I've got after Christmas."

Charlus grinned. "You'll lose, Black."

Dorea huffed. " _Men_."

* * *

Soon enough, Christmas day was upon them.

As Harry stumbled down to the dining room, Hermione close behind. Yawning, Hermione spoke. "I wonder what Christmas will be like here... this family seems so tight-knit. I hope we don't intrude too much," she said, sounding vaguely self-conscious.

Harry shot her an unimpressed look. "If we interrupted their dynamic, they would have said something about it, don't you think?"

At Hermione's shrug, Harry stopped in the middle of the stairs, turning to face his best friend and crush. "Are you all right, Hermione? Usually, I'm the one with doubts. I know that neither of us is particularly socially inclined, but you usually seem to know when you're not welcome, and since I _know_ we are welcome here, I just want to make sure you're okay."

Hermione stepped down so she was level with him before pulling him into a hug. "Maybe you're right," she whispered, "but I'm not ready to forsake our home quite yet. I see the look on your face, Harry. I know you aren't going to want to go back home, and why would you? You finally have everything you could ever want. The problem for me is that I have a family back home too, I have Crookshanks. I _miss_ my mum and dad. You know that I would never leave you here, but I miss them too."

Harry squeezed her tighter. "Maybe... maybe you aren't as good at reading me as you thought," he suggested. "I'm by your side no matter what. And even though I love it here, it isn't really home. Maybe it could be, one day, but it won't now, not until Voldemort is gone. Remember, the prophecy we heard, it said 'neither can live while the other survives,' Hermione. You'll see your parents again, and I'll be right by your side. I'll fight for _our_ home, don't you doubt that."

Hermione sniffled. "J-just look at us," Hermione said, letting out a watery giggle, "two crazy dimension travelers."

She leaned back slightly, repositioning herself so their foreheads were touching. "I'm not crazy, Hermione," Harry said, grinning, "that must be all you."

Laughing now, she slapped his chest. "Sh-shut up, you amazing man! See? I can't even be mad at you!"

They both broke down into laughter.

Harry breathed out heavily. "You're so wonderful, Hermione Granger," he said emotionally.

Hermione smiled. "And you, Harry Potter," she said back.

Harry closed his eyes, just relishing the position they were in, not knowing that Hermione was doing the same. They stayed like that for a while, simply content to stand and embrace. Eventually, though, Harry opened his eyes. He couldn't help but smile. At that moment, he realized what he was going to do.

"Hermione?" he asked nervously.

"Hm?" she responded, still utterly relaxed.

"What if... what if we made a home... a home together?" he asked haltingly.

Her eyes shot open, though she did not pull back. Harry watched as surprise flitted across her face before it was ruthlessly quashed. "What do you mean, Harry?" she asked equally nervously, all traces of her former peace having disappeared.

Harry sighed, willing the tension to seep out of his body. Surprisingly, it faded away. "I said, what if we made a home together?" he asked again, looking into her eyes, desperately trying to convey his meaning to her.

Hermione's brown eyes widened, suddenly sparkling with some emotion Harry couldn't identify. Clearly, she had finally grasped his meaning, though Harry had no idea what she was thinking, which was a rather unusual occurrence for him. He was simply too nervous to pay enough attention to her mannerisms, the tension having quickly returned.

"I think... I think I would like that," she breathed, sounding utterly flummoxed, yet delighted all the same.

At that moment, Harry was struck with the incredible urge to kiss her. It was very hard to resist, and Harry struggled. Fortunately, Hermione made the decision for him, as if she sensed the struggle within him (it was possible that she did).

Their lips met in a rather uncoordinated mess, though that bothered neither of them. Pulling back, they both ended up breathing heavily, smiling blindingly.

"How did that compare?" Hermione asked breathlessly, staring into his eyes.

Harry did a double-take. "What?"

"How did it compare to your kiss with Cho?" Hermione elaborated, eyes roving all over his face, trying to read him.

"Are you—? Hermione, are you crazy? We just kissed and you're asking me how it _compared?_ That's what you want to talk about right now?" he asked incredulously.

"Yes, Harry, please," Hermione said desperately, her face rather red now, probably from embarrassment.

"It was much, much better, alright? There's no comparison, really," Harry replied quickly, eager for that part of the conversation to be over.

Her features melted into relief. "Oh, _good_ ," she said. "I just... I just needed to know. You know I'm insecure sometimes," she continued lamely, "I'm sorry, I should have realized this was a—a bad time, but I just needed to know."

Harry sighed, his features softening. "It's okay, I understand," he said softly. "I do have an important question, though." She looked at him quizzically. "Will you be my girlfriend?"

She laughed. "Of course, Harry! What did you think that was? A friendship kiss?"

She kissed him again, and they lost themselves in each other for a time. "No," Harry agreed once they had stopped. "Those were certainly not friendship kisses."

Hermione laughed, a deep, musical sound. It almost sounded different to his ears, now that things had changed. His heart skipped a beat every time he heard the wonderful sound, and once it had abated, he wondered what he could do to make her laugh once more.

Suddenly, he couldn't help it, he grinned. It was a wide grin, not just a playful one, but one of genuine delight. Noticing this, Hermione asked, "What is it, Harry?"

"I'm just so happy," he said, grin unabated. "I truly didn't expect for you to feel the same. Just know, though, that this means that I'm not leaving you."

She grinned too. "So am I. I'll follow you wherever you feel you need to go, Harry Potter," she said.

This simply firmed his resolve. "Then, we're going home whenever our way back is ready," he said.

Hermione gaped. "Are you sure? You're so happy here!"

"Yes," Harry said firmly. "We're going back."

She kissed him again.

* * *

When his two friends walked into the dining room, Sirius knew something had changed.

Factor one: they were holding hands. They did this all the time, but still.

Factor two: Harry had a dopey grin on his face. _Actually, not that unusual,_ Sirius thought to himself, snickering internally.

Factor three: Hermione had a dopey grin on her face. Hermione _never_ had a dopey grin on her face.

Factor four: arguably the most obvious factor, their lips were puffy, which meant—

"WOOOOO!" All conversation stopped as the entire room watched the Black heir jump out of his seat and scream in triumph.

"Er, Sirius? Are you alright?" James asked tentatively. Oh, sweet, concerned James. If Sirius wasn't already taken by a smoking hot chick like Jess, he would totally jump on James. Oh. Wait. James was a boy, his brother in all but blood. Sirius didn't _like_ boys, and he didn't _like_ brothers either. At that moment, Sirius realized he was likely a bit overexcited.

"I won the bet, Prongs!" Sirius exclaimed.

"What bet? Oh—"

Sirius nodded. "Yes, James, that bet."

Harry cut in. "What bet is this, and why wasn't I included?"

"How can you tell," asked James irritably, completely ignoring Harry.

"You can tell by looking at their—" But unlike Harry, Hermione was not to be ignored.

" _SIRIUS ORION BLACK, IF YOU FINISH THAT SENTENCE, SO HELP ME GOD, I WILL_ _—!_ "

"Hermione," chided Harry, cutting in smoothly.

 _See?_ mouthed Sirius to a slowly understanding James.

"Damn," James swore, fishing in his pocket for the galleons.

"Oh, I see what he's on about," said Charlus from the other side of the room, who was skillfully ignoring the withering look being sent his way by the losing party, his good friend Arcturus, who had also caught on. "Pay up, old friend!"

Charlus laughed gleefully as Arcturus handed him five golden, _shiny_ galleons.

"What?" said Harry.

"You're a dimwit, Harry," Sirius deadpanned. "If even those old codgers over there caught on—"

"Hey!"

"—I'm sure you can."

A moment later, the older Sirius strolled into the dining room, stopped, and glanced at the chaos. "Potters," he muttered fondly, before looking at his godson.

"Oh, Arcturus lost, didn't he?" older Sirius said, peering at the rapidly reddening Hermione. "Oh, James too? I didn't know they had a bet going!"

"I am so lost right now," admitted Harry.

"You're a dimwit, Harry," older Sirius deadpanned, unknowingly mirroring his younger self. "If even us old codgers over here caught on, I'm sure you can."

Shaking her head, Hermione stood on her toes and whispered something into Harry's ear, who suddenly adopted a look of dawning comprehension.

"Oh," he said intelligently.

"Honestly, Harry," Hermione chided. "Even you aren't usually this oblivious."

"Hey!" protested said chosen one, immediately spotting the insult in the statement.

Hermione rolled her eyes and pulled Harry along to their seats.

"So," a grinning Harry said a few minutes later, during the lull in the conversation, "you aren't going to lecture them for betting on us?"

"Hey!" started James.

"Don't remind her," ordered younger Sirius.

"Too late for that," commented older Sirius.

"I've decided I'm not annoyed," Hermione said nonchalantly, leading to several jaws dropping.

"Wow, Hermione," younger Sirius enthused, "where did you put the stick that was up your—"

Sirius was thankfully silenced by James, who was present enough to cover his friend's mouth.

Hermione's eyes narrowed. "What was that, Paddy-daddy?" she asked sweetly, too sweetly.

The table roared with laughter as the tips of the mentioned boy's ears turned red and his cheeks pinked.

"Whew," said older Sirius, wiping an imaginary tear from his eye, "remind me to never cross you."

"Never cross me," Hermione said mock-threateningly.

The older Sirius adopted a humorous expression of abject terror.

"Save me!" the grown man wailed. "She's too scary!"

"Shut up, you old mutt," groused Arcturus.

"Thanks, _Grandfather_ ," said old mutt threw back.

Arcturus simply rolled his eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's been a while since I've touched this story, and to be perfectly honest, I didn't think I would be again. However, this was the only story that was at least vaguely popular, with a whopping 250 favorites (at least on fanfiction.net). The reason I originally stopped writing here was not because of a terrible mistake or something, but it was because I hadn't been making the story move quickly enough. You might be wondering, how is this any quicker, looking at the large section I've added to this chapter. It's quicker because the next chapter will feature a massive time skip, at which they will be returning home by the end. A few particular scenes will be stretched out because they are admittedly important scenes, but much of what I had planned for this alternative world will not be happening, and there are things I had planned that will simply be alluded to.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed what I added to this chapter, and that you might forgive me for abandoning this for a while. I'm back now, though, and I'll hopefully be working on this for a good while.


	7. Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A very large time-skip and the return!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Woo-hoo! A completely new chapter! For the first time in months!  
> Note that I don't have any experience with weddings, so those parts may seem a little strained or inaccurate.  
> Final WARNING: Massive time skip this chapter. Some of you may be disappointed with that. ¯\\_( '_' )_/¯
> 
> Enjoy :)

**Six Years Later** **— July 1981**

In an apartment deep in Diagon Alley, two married couples resided, splitting the meager rent. One of these couples was recently married, the other having married almost directly out of school. The newlywed couple was Harry and Hermione Potter, the couple that married years ago being James and Lily Potter.

In their sixth year of Hogwarts, James and Lily had finally gotten together, to the surprise of absolutely no one. James proposed _in the middle of graduation_. Literally, right on the stage. Lily smacked him before saying yes. Harry and Hermione got engaged much later, as both had been satisfied with their dynamic. Originally, they had planned to marry after getting home. As time stretched on with no way back, they began to reconsider their decision.

In the middle of August in 1979, Harry proposed to his girlfriend of nearly four years. They married the next year, in July.

Twenty-one year old Harry Potter flipped open _The Herald_ , and sighed, reading the large and bold title on the front page. **_MYSTERIOUS FORCES STRIKE AGAIN_**. There had been yet another attack. He was starting to wonder if Voldemort had somehow also fallen through the Veil. Ever since the attack on the Black ancestral home, there would be a report of an attack every few months.

However, in the past few weeks alone, there had been three separate attacks. The Auror Department was no closer to finding the perpetrators then they had been nearly six years ago.

There was a tapping on the window. Harry stood from the squishy armchair he had been sitting in and made his way to the window. It was an owl.

Harry grumbled. "What is it _this_ time?"

He untied the letter from its leg, absently feeding it a few owl treats he had fetched from the bowl nearby.

_Mr. and Mrs. Potter:_

_Please come to the Department of  
Mysteries at your earliest convenience.  
_ _The project is complete._

_Regards,_

_Unspeakable Moon_

"Hermione!" Harry hollered, all traces of fatigue vanishing.

"Yes, Harry?" came the equally loud response from right behind him.

"Agh!" Harry jumped, startled.

She gave him the _look._ "Shouldn't have yelled then, Harry."

Harry chuckled, shaking his head. "Please read this," he requested, handing her the letter.

Snatching it from his grip, she pulled it taut and read it, eyes quickly scanning the paper. "We're going home," she whispered, her eyes glistening.

"We're going home," Harry repeated, smiling at her.

Hermione put the letter down on the table, and hugged him tightly without warning, overcome with emotions. "I'll get to see _them_ again," she whispered.

"And Ron too," Harry reminded her.

"Oh, don't remind me," she said with a watery giggle. As quickly as her expression relaxed, it tensed again. "What will he think of us when he sees us like this, Harry? We're six years older than him now, adults, and he's only a kid."

"He'll be proud of us," Harry said, unsure.

"Proud?" she asked incredulously, eyebrows scrunching cutely.

"Maybe proud isn't the right word," Harry allowed. "In truth, I think he may be sad, but not mad. This wasn't really our fault, was it?"

"Well..."

"Okay, it was our fault, but we didn't intend for what happened to happen."

Hermione sighed, shoulders slumping even more. "It's been six years since we've seen him, Harry. I don't think we can properly predict his reactions anymore."

Harry sighed as well, flicking out his wand. "I'm going to send out a Patronus. Is that okay, or would you like to wait for a little?"

"No, no," Hermione said. "Go ahead. I know intellectually that it will be alright, it's just that some of these doubts are surfacing, and I _feel_ unsure."

Harry nodded. "Is there anything I can do to help?"

"No, I'm sorry, Harry. I... There are still a few doubts, but I've already dealt with the bulk of them in the past. These last few, though, the only way I think there is to get rid of them is to face them back home."

Harry nodded understandingly. " _Expecto Patronum._ "

A massive blue stag burst from his wand and flew through the wall, galloping towards its destination.

Harry guided them over to the armchair and sat, allowing Hermione to sit on his lap. He wrapped his arms around her. "It's going to be okay."

She nodded. "I know, I just—"

"Shh," Harry whispered. "It's going to be okay."

Several pops of apparition could be heard outside the apartment in addition to James and Lily, who apparated inside. The door flew open and Sirius rushed inside followed by Remus, Snape, Jess, and Peter. Harry looked up calmly at the assembled crowd.

"We can go home," he said softly.

Sirius whooped. He knew how much his friends wanted this. "I'm still coming with you, though, right?"

Hermione nodded. "Why would that change?"

Sirius's eyes flickered over to Jess.

"Oh," Hermione said.

Jess looked at Sirius. "You think I'm being left behind? No, I'm in, bitches!"

James snorted. "We're all coming, right?"

Snape frowned. "I don't believe I'm going to come."

Several people all spoke at the same time, "What?"

He shook his head. "I love teaching at Hogwarts, and... and I'm not the best duelist. I'm a Rune Master. You said there's a war back in your world. I'm not suited to that."

While Harry looked disappointed, Hermione looked resigned. Lily had tears in her eyes. "Sev? Are you sure?"

He nodded sadly, unable to move his eyes from the ground.

Peter spoke up hesitantly. "Uh, guys, probably me too. You know I'm pathetic at dueling, none of Dumbledore's lessons made much of a difference. Also, I got accepted into _the_ fast-track magical law school! I really want to go there..."

Everyone wore the same expressions they did when Snape had announced the same.

"We'll find a way to visit," Harry said firmly. "If whatever the Unspeakables made doesn't work for repeat trips, then I'll wait longer."

Despite her burning desire to see home, Hermione did not hesitate to agree. Though it wasn't their home, this world was still wonderful.

Harry lifted his wand. " _Pack_."

Everything in the flat, large and small, soared towards Hermione's bottomless bag. As they got to the opening, Hermione shrunk each large item.

She stood and slung the bag over her shoulder. "We're going home."

* * *

The older Sirius hugged Harry as tightly as he could.

"We'll visit," Harry said emotionally, clutching his godfather.

"I should hope so," the man said, ruffling Harry's hair. As they had arrived at the Department of Mysteries, they had been taken to an office where the Unspeakable who sent Harry the letter explained the situation.

The devices that would take them home were rings. As long as one concentrated on the destination while stepping into the Veil, the Veil would take you there, guided by the ring. When Harry questioned why there were more than three rings, given that there were only three displaced magicals, Harry could practically _see_ the scoff in their voice when they said that if Harry thought they were going to be given the only three devices capable of interdimensional travel, then he was barmy.

As a result, there were more than enough rings for the group to all go through. Each person slid the ring onto their right ring finger and lined up in order of fighting prowess, from Harry, who was the first, to Jess, who was the last.

The older Sirius, Charlus, Dorea, Snape, and Peter all stood to the side, watching the group with sadness, though it wasn't quite as emotional as it would have been if they wouldn't be able to come back.

Harry firmed his resolve and took the leap.

A strange sense of cold assaulted him, and he felt extremely disoriented. As cold and twisting as it was, it only lasted a few seconds.

The disorientation vanished as he stepped out of the veil.

"H-Harry?" came a desperate-sounding voice to his left.

Harry turned, and there he was, just as he had looked when Harry had left: Remus Lupin.

"Hello Remus," came Hermione's voice from behind Harry.

Several small cracking noises sounded in the room as people stepped out of the Veil. With each new person, Remus's eyes grew wider.

" _No!_ " came the shriek of anger from Bellatrix Lestrange. She flicked her wand viciously, and a long whip of fire emerged, lashing out towards Harry, who simply flicked his wand upwards, simultaneously disarming and stunning Bellatrix and creating an invisible shield that the fire whip struck with a loud _gong_.

Harry reached out and plucked the wand that was soaring towards him out of the air. He tossed it to Hermione, who pocketed it.

Dumbledore, who had been watching the fight thus far, took a step forward. "State your name and intentions here!" he commanded, his not inconsiderable magical power flaring out around him in an aura.

Harry glared at the man who had blocked his magic. "I am Harry James Potter, and I'm here to help in the war against Voldemort."

Dumbledore's eyes narrowed. "Harry Potter is fifteen years old. You are not fifteen years old."

Harry shrugged. "I spent some time away."

Hermione moved so she stood next to him. "Who is this?" Dumbledore asked, peering at her.

She smiled a deceptively innocent smile. "Why, surely you remember me, Professor?"

Dumbledore's eyes showed a flicker of recognition, but he said nothing.

James stepped up. "Headmaster, there is an assault on the Ministry. This is no time to be squabbling."

Dumbledore had the grace to look somewhat abashed. "Go, then. Join the fight, if that is what you so desire. I imagine the bulk of it to be happening in the Atrium."

Harry locked eyes with Hermione, who nodded. He flicked his wand at Bellatrix's prone body, and a small hole appeared in the center of her forehead. She made a small noise before falling eternally silent.

Ignoring his newly upset stomach, Harry led his friends out of the Death Chamber, also ignoring the stares boring into his back.

As they walked in the direction of the Atrium, Hermione glanced at Harry. "I thought Lestrange was supposed to be dangerous."

Harry nodded. "She was. I reckon I caught her in a moment of surprise."

Nothing more was said on the matter, and the group made their way to the Atrium in silence.

As they entered the spacious hall, Harry's attention was immediately drawn to Voldemort, who was dueling several members of the Order of the Phoenix at the same time. As the group split, Harry looked at Hermione. "Shall we?" he asked playfully. He just got a grin in response.

They dove into the fight.

"Hey, Voldemort!" Harry yelled at the dark wizard.

Said dark wizard sneered. "Who do you think you are to challenge me, little wizard?" he scoffed, sending over thirty conjured knives hurtling towards Harry with only so much as a flick of his wand.

" _The one with the power to vanquish the Dark Lord..._ " Harry quoted, creating a redirect ward by tracing a rune in the air with his wand.

Voldemort simply held his wand forward and the knives flowed around him, almost like water before hitting the wall behind with several soft thunks.

With his wand, Harry forced the water from the fountain to flow into a massive sphere above him. As Harry was doing this, Voldemort was peppering a shield Harry had just barely put up with an innumerable number of piercing hexes. Taking advantage of Voldemort's slight distraction, Harry snapped with his hand that wasn't holding the wand, and a small piece of stone broke off from the ceiling above. Voldemort noticed it just in time, hopping back just far enough to be out of the impact zone.

Voldemort banished the ceiling piece at Harry, who was unfortunately preoccupied with the water. The chunk blew through Harry's shield, which was not designed to stop physical objects, and knocked Harry back and to the ground. With Harry's concentration interrupted, the water fell and absolutely soaked both Harry and Voldemort, the latter of whom instantly dried himself with a charm.

Sirius, spotting Harry's predicament, apparated right behind him, casting a shield in front of them, face straining as Voldemort shot spell after spell at it, the spells getting increasingly more powerful proportional to his growing frustration.

Harry used this slight reprieve to scramble to his feet, dry himself off, and heal the few scrapes he got.

Then, Sirius dropped the shield and the two powerful wizards unleashed hell upon Voldemort.

Harry cycled through chains of banishers, explosive hexes, bone breakers, blood boilers, and the occasional lightning, while Sirius summoned all the rubble from everywhere in the room and used his impressive transfiguration skills to good effect.

The rubble formed into one shape and was transfigured into thousands of razor-thin shards of metal.

Sirius banished them all at Voldemort at once.

Unfortunately, Voldemort lived up to his reputation, and thrust his wand out, stopping the metal in midair. It reformed into one long chain of metal shards. _While blocking Harry's spells_ , the Dark Lord sent a jolt of electricity down the rod which jumped off of the end and hit a shocked Sirius in the chest, who flew backward a few yards, landing on his back. The man let out a pain-filled grunt before passing out.

Enraged, Harry doubled his efforts, pushing more power into the spells than before.

Unfortunately, Voldemort redirected one of Harry's lightning strikes right back at him. He couldn't dodge it in time.

The shock knocked him back, and he ended up lying next to Sirius, though he managed to stay awake.

Hermione popped into existence behind Voldemort, slinging banishing charms and explosive hexes towards her foe at lightning speed.

Voldemort turned and created a nearly opaque shield just in time, but it was only covering his front. From his position on the ground, Harry attacked at his back with a bone-breaking hex, and Voldemort screamed as his back shattered.

With a massive _CRACK_ that shattered all of the glass that was still standing, the Dark Lord apparated away.

As they heard their Lord scream, the rest of the Death Eaters apparated out, their earlier confidence sapped by the flight of their master.

Harry staggered to his feet, barely able to stand. Pointing his wand at his chest with clenched teeth, he muttered a myriad of healing charms, which managed to lessen the pain somewhat.

Swishing his wand in Sirius's direction with the intent of waking him up, he turned towards an exhausted-looking Hermione, eyes roving over her to check for injuries. "Are you all right?" he panted.

Hermione nodded breathlessly. "We've slipped, Harry. It's been a long time since we've been this bad."

Harry nodded before gritting his teeth as a spasm rocked through his body.

"Oh, Merlin, Harry! You're hurt!" She rushed to his side, immediately starting to cast diagnostic spells.

"Hit by my own lightning spell," he gritted out. "Sirius got shocked by the fucker too."

Wincing, Hermione started healing him to the best of her ability.

"Yeah," ground out Sirius, who was stumbling over to them. "This idiot thought I would be fine if he just chucked an _Ennervate_ at me and walked away!"

Harry winced. "Sorry, Sirius, wasn't really thinking all that straight."

Hermione sighed. " _Men_. What am I going to do with the two of you?"

Sirius huffed. "The fall snapped my wand. You could throw a few healing charms my way. Please?"

Hermione quickly complied. A few moments later, James and Lily appeared next to Hermione with a _pop_.

"Any injuries?" Hermione asked.

Lily shook her head. "Not for us, but Jess has been hurt."

Sirius tried to get up. "What? Jess is hurt? Where—"

"Don't you move, Sirius Black!" Hermione yelled. "I'm healing you here!"

"But—!"

"She's right, mate," James informed him. "Jess is with Remus right now. He'll keep her safe."

"Thank you," muttered Hermione. "At least someone here has sense."

Sounds of protest could be heard coming from Sirius.

"Harry!" Remus hollered from the other side of the Atrium, voice sounding hoarse. "I need some help here!"

"I'm coming with you," Lily said, shooting a look at James that _dared_ him to disagree.

James held up his hands in an 'I surrender' pose. "Don't look at me, get over there!"

"Harry!" Remus hollered again.

"Shit!" Harry swore, putting a hand on Lily's shoulder and apparating them right next to Remus with a much louder than normal _CRACK!_

Harry fell to his knees. "Aagh!" he grunted, just barely managing to keep in a scream.

"HARRY!" came Hermione's angry scream from across the Atrium. "WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?"

"Lily," Harry pleaded, wisely choosing not to yell back while Hermione was livid enough to swear.

Lily, looking a bit peeved at Harry herself, hit him with a few pain-relief and healing charms to undo the damage he did to himself with his apparition. Once he could stand, Harry looked at Remus. "What do you need?"

Shaking his head, Remus pointed at Jess. "She got hit with some kind of curse that affected her mind. You're the only Legilimens out of us. I need you to find the problem and fix it. I had to stun her, Harry. She was a gibbering wreck."

"Fuck," he swore before diving into her mind.

* * *

Remus Lupin (the older one) stared blankly at the ground in front of him while he was supposed to be listening to Albus, who was currently issuing orders. He didn't know what to think! Sirius, Harry, _and_ Hermione all just went through the _Veil!_ And not a second later, out came an _older_ Harry, what looked like an older Hermione, what looked like _James and Lily_ , a _younger_ Sirius Black, and a younger version of _himself!_ If that wasn't enough, they left a second later to go fight!

Luckily, he tuned in to Albus's directions at just the right time to hear his own instructions. "—Remus, you should find the unconscious Weasleys. If you would bring them up with you when we go, that would be much appreciated. Nymphadora, you should—"

 _Absurd_. However, if it was _really_ James and Lily, Remus didn't know what he would do. It was nearing the fifteen-year mark from when they had died. If they returned suddenly, he didn't know if he would be able to stay in control of his emotions. If they were _impostors_ , however, he would take pride in detaining them.

So lost in his thoughts, was he, that he didn't notice when everyone started filing out of the room. "Remus," Tonks said gently, startling him.

Sighing, Remus walked out of the Death Chamber. Seeing Ron Weasley lying discarded on the ground, Remus growled. _Bastards_. _They just left the kid by himself, clearly badly injured_.

Flicking his wand at Ron, the boy floated up. As Remus continued walking forward, he noticed the Weasley girl also lying unconscious. She hadn't been injured as badly, however, just a broken ankle, and he knew how to fix those. Merlin knew Sirius had broken enough bones during their school days for him to have looked up the charm to fix it.

" _Brackium Emendo_ ," he incanted, watching as her food snapped back into place. " _Ennervate_."

Ginny sat up with a gasp. "Professor!"

"Miss Weasley," he greeted.

"Is Harry okay?"

Remus stiffened, and he knew Ginny had noticed. "I'm not sure," Remus admitted.

"No," Ginny whispered, and when Remus looked at her, he couldn't help but feel pity for the expression on her face.

"Please stand, Miss Weasley, and tell me how your foot feels. We need to start moving. Everyone else is ahead."

Remus internally sighed as he watched Ginny visibly repress her emotions and carefully stand, testing her foot.

They walked in silence, Ginny on the left, Remus in the middle, Ron floating on the right. Just a few minutes later, they stepped into the Atrium, looking around at the madness. Suddenly, a loud _CRACK_ made almost everyone jump.

Remus watched as the woman that looked like an older Hermione Granger scream, "HARRY! WHAT THE FUCK WERE YOU THINKING?"

Then, Remus followed her eyes and saw the man that claimed to be Harry Potter fall to his knees, spasms coursing through his body. Thanks to the charm work of the Lily look-alike, though, he seemed alright to stand a moment later and began talking to the young Remus look-alike.

Remus was forced to look away, however, when Mundungus Fletcher came up to him and pointed to the Harry look-alike, and said, "That man over there took down the Dark Lord 'imself, I tell ya! An' look! Doesn't look much worse for wear, eh?"

Remus looked incredulously at the short man. "Took down Voldemort? Is he dead?"

"'eavens, no! He jus' forced the Dark Lord to flee, that's all. Nailed 'im in the back with a bone-breaker, they say."

A nearby wizard Remus couldn't identify chipped in. "I reckon it's a good thing you weren't here, let me tell ya. That scream sounded just like my old ma! Like it came from the deep end of hell!"

As the two men continued chatting, Remus carefully extracting himself from the conversation, mentally cursing when he saw Ginny running towards the Hermione look-alike.

* * *

Sirius sighed in relief. "Ah, thanks, Hermione. That really feels so much better."

Hermione openly glared at him. "Just remember, Sirius Black, that this fix was only temporary. Once we've got a few rooms at the Leaky, I'm conjuring an operating table!"

James shook his head before walking away towards Harry, Lily, and Remus. He did not want to be involved in whatever crap Sirius was no doubt going to pull, even while injured.

Sirius's eyes widened. "No, no, that's not necessary. I promise I'll be careful."

She shot him a doubtful look, to which he pretended to look gravely offended.

As she gathered the medical supplies back into the bottomless bag, Sirius spoke again. "I was thinking—"

"How dangerous," Hermione quipped cutting in.

Sirius scowled.

"I was _thinking_ about which room we're putting Remus in," Sirius said again, this time finishing his sentence.

"With James and Lily," Hermione said without hesitation.

"Why?" Sirius shot back. "Is it because they're not here right now?"

Hermione rolled her eyes. "No, it's because you and Harry are injured."

"What does that have to do with anything?"

"I know I'm going to need more space to deal with Harry, and you know Jess is going to want to finish healing you as well."

"I am healed!" Sirius protested before subsiding at the flat look she gave him.

Hermione stood, having finished packing her bag.

Sirius began to speak again. "Anyways, we should probably head over to—"

"Hey, is that Ginny?" Hermione said, almost to herself, cutting Sirius off.

It was Sirius's turn to roll his eyes. "I'm going to head over to Jess while you guys have your little girly reunion."

Hermione snapped off a stinging hex in his direction as he was leaving, leading to a yelp, and to his footsteps speeding up.

"Hermione?" came a tentative voice from behind her.

She turned around and nearly melted at the vulnerability on her childhood friend's face.

"Ginny," she said warmly. "Oh, how I've missed you."

Ginny gave Hermione a quick once-over. "Why are you older?"

This time, Hermione had to give a sad smile. "I grew up."

"What does that mean?"

Hermione sighed. "It's a really long story. I'll explain it to you later."

Ginny frowned but accepted it nonetheless. Hermione led Ginny across the Atrium, dodging the occasional Auror as they stormed past. They quickly reached Harry, who was staring into the glassy eyes of Jess.

"What's he doing?" Hermione asked Lily.

Remus answered for her. "He's looking through her mind. She got hit by some sort of mind-altering curse."

"Merlin," Hermione breathed, staring at the woman who was one of her bridesmaids.

"Excuse me," Ginny broke in politely. "Who are you all? I know this is Hermione here, but who are you?"

Lily smiled. "I'm Lily, Ginny. Next to me is my husband, James. Next to James is our friend Remus. On my other side is also our friend Sirius. The unresponsive woman is Jess, and the man leaning over her is Harry."

"Harry?" Ginny asked Hermione, eyes wide with hope.

Hermione laughed. "Yes, it's Harry. What other Harrys would be here with me?"

Ginny chuckled. "So," she said, looking at Lily speculatively. "You're Mrs. Potter?"

Lily smiled mischievously. "I'm one of them," she said, glancing not so subtly at Hermione.

To her credit, Ginny caught on immediately. "Oh. My. God. Hermione, you married Harry Potter? You need to tell me _everything!_ "

They were interrupted when Harry suddenly stood up, looking grim. "Hermione, please floo call St. Mungos, we need a mind healer. I'm not skilled enough for this."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope I did a decent job with the time skip here. It's pretty big of a jump, I know, but it was time for them to go back home.
> 
> Comment! It makes all the difference.


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